Kirchler Mineral Museum

In the Valle Aurina valley there is a place to visit for those who love minerals. The collector Artur Kirchler displays his comprehensive collection of minerals which he gathered in the area of the High Tauern and the Zillertal Alps in the eponymous Kirchler Mineral Museum - "Mineralienmuseum Kirchler" in German, "Museo Mineralogico Kirchler" in Italian. Nowadays this collection is considered one oft the most impressive of the Eastern Alps.

The museum comprises an exhibition surface of 300 sqm and is entitled "Treasures of the Alps". It displays feldspar, flour-spars, emeralds and the largest smoky quartzes of South Tyrol. Also mountain crystals are exhibited, reminding the eternal ice of the glaciers. An attraction is the "Bergkristallwindl" of the Predoi Mine, which is a seldom growth form of mountain crystals. In the multimedia room you can learn interesting details about minerals and their healing effect. Moreover a movie in the media room shows the search for the scintillating gems, which already emerged about 30 millions of years ago in the depths of the earth. And in the adjacent little shop you can purchase some souvenirs for home: minerals, healing stones and jewellery.

By the way: there's a second mineral museum in South Tyrol, the Tiso Mineral Museum in the Val di Funes valley. And how to reach the Kirchler Museum? It can be found between the villages of San Giovanni (St. Johann) and Cadipietra (Steinhaus), parking spaces are available. Bus line 450 (Campo Tures - Cadipietra) stops a little bit further, at Mühlegg.