Discover Fundres: Farm Trail, Mountain Lakes and Church Festival

Fundres combines paths through the mountain landscape with traces of construction and craftsmanship from several centuries. The Pfunderer Farm Trail is six kilometres long, takes around two hours and has an elevation difference of 250 metres. The Pfunders Mountain Lakes Circuit leads to remote mountain lakes and through unspoilt alpine meadows. The choice of route therefore already creates a different focus for the day: the Farm Trail brings together farmsteads and historic traces, while the Mountain Lakes Circuit showcases the natural landscape of lakes and alpine meadows. For planning the day, the approximate duration of the Farm Trail can serve as a clear time frame. Those exploring Fundres can thus distinguish between the Farm Trail, with its clearly defined duration, and the Mountain Lakes Circuit with its remote lakes and alpine meadows.

Farm Trail, Alpine Pastures and Mountain Lakes

The Pfunderer Farm Trail passes the Feurerhof farm with its ice cellar. The ice cellar remains a specific architectural detail directly along the route and brings a piece of the area’s farming history into the hike. At six kilometres, around two hours and 250 metres of elevation gain, the tour’s distance, approximate duration and ascent are clearly defined. Those who choose the Farm Trail can fit its approximate duration into a day plan with their own breaks; the elevation difference should be taken into account as an additional challenge of the tour.

The Pfunders Alpine Hut Circuit leads to Gampiel Alm, which also has a small petting zoo. The Egger-Bodenalm, with a cheese dairy on the high alpine pasture, is located on the same circular route. The circuit therefore remains focused on the alpine pastures and leads to two stops with different characteristics: Gampiel Alm with its petting zoo and Egger-Bodenalm with its cheese dairy.

St. Martin’s Church and Regional History

St. Martin’s Church in Pfunders was first mentioned in 1397. The present building of St. Martin’s Church in Pfunders dates from 1808 to 1810. Inside, the barrel vault is decorated with frescoes by Plazidus Altmutter. There is also a cemetery chapel next to the parish church, built in 1735. The 1735 chapel thus stands beside a church whose present building was constructed more than a century later. The first mention therefore predates the present building. For those interested in culture, architectural history, frescoes and a cemetery chapel are presented here as specific topics side by side.

Gruipa Alm also represents regional work and craftsmanship. Serpentine was extracted there in the mid-18th century. A large part of this serpentine was used for the green wall cladding in Brixen Cathedral. For those interested in culture, this establishes a specific local connection between Gruipa Alm and Brixen Cathedral. The green wall cladding in Brixen Cathedral represents the use of the serpentine extracted on the alpine pasture.

Church Festival and Traditional Dates

The “Kirschta” in Pfunders commemorates the church’s consecration day on 20 May 1810. The Pfunderer Church Festival always takes place on the fourth weekend after Easter.

For the overview of the wider trip: Bolzano.