The Altstadt, the old town of Bolzano (Bozen in German), is a compact grid of arcaded streets, squares and Gothic churches at the foot of the Dolomites. It grew from a market town founded by the prince-bishops of Trento in the late 12th century, on the trade route between Italy and the Brenner Pass, and trade still shapes it today. Its main street, the Laubengasse or Via dei Portici, has been lined with shops under arcades for more than 800 years.
Bolzano Old Town at a glance
- Where: between Piazza Walther in the south, the Talfer (Talvera) river in the west and the Dominican and Franciscan churches on its edges, in the centre of Bolzano.
- Created: founded as a market town by the prince-bishops of Trento in the late 12th century; the fruit market dates from the 13th century.
- What it is today: a largely pedestrian centre of shops, cafés and markets, with signs and life in both German and Italian.
- Main sights: the Laubengasse arcades, the Obstmarkt fruit market, Piazza Walther, the cathedral and the Dominican and Franciscan churches.
- Time needed: two to three hours for an unhurried walk, more if you visit the Ötzi museum.
A market town on the road to the Brenner
Bolzano sits where the Isarco (Eisack) and Talfer valleys meet the Adige, a natural crossroads. In the late 12th century the bishop of Trento laid out a planned market town along one long street, the Laubengasse, with narrow, deep houses whose ground floors opened onto covered arcades. In 1277 the town was taken by Meinhard II, Count of Tyrol, and from 1363 it belonged with Tyrol to the Habsburgs. From the 14th and 15th centuries large fairs were held four times a year for merchants travelling over the Brenner Pass.
To settle disputes between traders from north and south, Archduchess Claudia de' Medici set up a special commercial court, the Mercantile Magistrate, in the 17th century; its Baroque seat, built between 1708 and the late 1720s, now houses the Mercantile Museum. After the First World War South Tyrol became part of Italy, and in the fascist period a new Italian quarter grew west of the Talfer around the Victory Monument, built as a counterweight to the old town. The medieval centre was damaged by bombing in the Second World War, including the cathedral, and restored afterwards.
What to look for
- The Laubengasse arcades: over 300 metres of covered walkways running east to west, with shops at street level and old storage cellars below.
- The Obstmarkt: the fruit and vegetable market square, with the Neptune fountain from 1745, known locally as the Gabelwirt, the fork innkeeper.
- The cathedral: a Gothic church with a colourful tiled roof and a delicate openwork tower finished in 1519, attributed to Hans Lutz von Schussenried.
- Piazza Walther: the main square, named after the medieval poet Walther von der Vogelweide, with a 19th-century marble statue of him by Heinrich Natter.
- The Dominican Church: inside, 14th-century frescoes in the St John's Chapel, painted in the manner of Giotto's school.
Two names, two languages
Almost everything in the old town has two names: Laubengasse and Via dei Portici, Obstmarkt and Piazza delle Erbe, Bozen and Bolzano. Street signs are bilingual, and in the shops you will hear German and Italian side by side. The Italian names became official after the annexation in the 1920s; today both are used, and Ladin, the third language of South Tyrol, gives the city a third name, Bulsan.
Tips for your visit
- Come in the morning, when the Obstmarkt stalls are full and the arcades are still quiet.
- Look up above the arcades for the bay windows and painted façades of the merchants' houses.
- In the weeks before Christmas Piazza Walther hosts a large Christmas market and the centre gets very busy.
- Combine the old town with the Ötzi museum and a walk along the Talfer promenade towards the river meadows.
Nearby
- South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology: home of Ötzi, the Copper Age man found in a glacier in 1991, a few minutes' walk west.
- Franciscan Church: a Gothic church with a quiet cloister and a carved winged altar from around 1500, on the northern edge of the old town.
- Talfer promenade: the riverside walk with views of the vineyards and mountains around the city.
- Victory Monument: the fascist-era triumphal arch across the Talfer bridge, now with a documentation centre on its history.
See Bolzano with World City Trail
Our Bolzano scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 33 minutes of walking. It includes places such as Bolzano Cathedral and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, home of Ötzi.
If you prefer a different format, Bolzano also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Bolzano scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Bolzano →
Play the outdoor escape game in Bolzano →
Facts checked in October 2026.