Costalovara

Costalovara and its lake are inextricably linked: Above it there is the Plattnerhof farm with the Beekeeping Museum

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Video : Lake Costalovara as seen from above
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Near Soprabolzano on the Renon, where the Renon Cable Car stops, the hamlet of Costalovara is located with the St. Joseph Church from 1726.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Lake Costalovara on the edge of the village, a popular bathing lake, is the complement to the outdoor pools in Collalbo and Soprabolzano.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Several hikes start from Costalovara, including the one to Lake Mezzo (Mitterstielersee), a protected wetland with views on the Dolomites.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Above Lake Costalovara is the Plattnerhof, a historic farm with a large outdoor area, a beekeeping museum and a theme trail.
Foto: MS, © Peer
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Inside you can admire the rooms of the Plattner Farm, including the corridor and the courtroom, the smoke room and the wooden parlour.
Foto: MS, © Peer
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View from the museum to the “Rittner Bahnl”, which is just passing by: It connects Soprabolzano with Collalbo and also stops in Costalovara.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The place was mentioned already in 1387 AD as “Wolfgruben super Rittinam” and got its name from a pitfall for catching wolves: Wolf means wolf and Grube means pit in German.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Snow covers Lake Costalovara at 1,172 m a.s.l. (Wolfsgrubener See): When it is frozen and cleaned, it turns into a popular ice-skating rink.
Foto: ED, © Peer
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With the shallow water depth and its altitude, the surface of the lake freezes over, ideal also for playing ice hockey if the ice layer is thick enough.
Foto: MS, © Peer
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Where ice cream is sold in summer, silence spreads in winter: Lake Costalovara is located on the edge of the same named village.
Foto: ED, © Peer
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It can be reached from Soprabolzano on foot in 25 minutes on trail no. 15, by the Renon Railway or by car: A car park is available opposite the lake.
Foto: ED, © Peer

Swimming and enjoying the sun in summer, ice skating and playing hockey in winter: Lake Costalovara is the centre of attention in Costalovara (Wolfsgruben) on the Renon. Its bathing water quality is excellent, which makes it one of the cleanest freshwater lakes in Italy, and the restaurant on the shore provides an ice cream or two. Carp, pike, tench and eels live in the water, which often freezes over in winter due to the alpine location - after all, you are at 1,172 m a.s.l. here.

The little village is scattered on Mt. Renon north of Bolzano between the centre of the village with the St. Joseph Church, a late Baroque building with onion domes, the lake and the line of the Renon Railway. This "Rittner Bahnl" takes you from Soprabolzano to Collalbo and stops in Costalovara, a comfortable and at the same time historic means of transport. In former times it ran as a rack railway directly from the Piazza Walther square in Bolzano up on the Renon, today it is a small red train. During Advent, the stops are transformed into a cosy Christmas Market.

Honey is a big topic in Costalovara: On the edge of the village, the Beekeeping Museum with its large outdoor area shows you numerous tools which are used for making honey. An educational trail is dedicated to the bee, of which there are numerous species. However, what is usually meant is the Western honey bee, which brings back about 20 milligrams of pollen per flight. The 600-year-old farm in the centre of the museum is called Plattnerhof. You will often see this name in South Tyrolean shops, because the blossom and forest honey produced here is also sold.

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