Vipiteno Municipal Museum and Multscher Museum

In the town of Vipiteno in the Upper Valle Isarco there is a complex, which from the 13th century used to be the Hospice of the Teutonic Order (Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem). In the 19th century, the township of Vipiteno took over the historical building, which is known as "Deutschhaus" or Commandry, in order to quarter the Town Hospital in it. Since 1986 in the eastern part of this building, there is the Multscher Museum, and since 1994 the Vipiteno Municipal Museum - "Stadtmuseum Sterzing" in German, "Museo Civico di Vipiteno" in Italian - has been opened in this place as well.

The Vipiteno Municipal Museum is located in the Baroque rooms in the east section of the building, established under commander of Baron of Recordin in the years between 1752 and 1754. A visit makes you become familiar with the history of Vipiteno, its brotherhoods and guilds as well as local handicraft by illustrating maps, townscape and documents. Wall paintings, display the history of the Teutonic Order. In the frame of a museum tour you can also visit the respective Church of the Teutonic Order dedicated to St. Elizabeth from the 18th century. The high altarpiece and the ceiling paints were created by Matthäus Günther from Augsburg (1705-1788), while Anton Gigl from Innsbruck established the stucco decoration on the walls and the vault.

The Multscher Museum, however, is dedicated to the master Hans Multscher from Ulm, a town in Germany (1400-1467). It displays the preserved parts of the famous late-Gothic Multscher Altar, established between 1456 and 1459 AD, a masterpiece of that era that had a sustainable impact on the development of arts in the southern German area. The four famous altarpieces show scenes of the life of Mary as well as the Passion of Christ. And how to reach the Vipiteno Municipal Museum and the Multscher Museum? The two combined museums can be found in the south of Vipiteno, more precisely in the Via della Commenda (Commandry Road), close to the Our Lady in the Moor Parish Church. A parking space is available, also the city bus no. 316 stops in this road.