Chiusa/Klausen – A Fairytale Village in the Italian Alps – Walking Tour (4K UHD)

Today’s walking tour brings us through the alleys of Chiusa, a town in *South Tyrol* (north of Italy). This is the place for fairytales: from the lovely Tyrolese houses overlooking the river, we’ll climb the hill to the ancient monastery while enjoying extraordinary views.

Located close to *Bolzano* in South Tyrol, the northernmost part of Italy, *Chiusa* is the perfect destination to explore the charm of a quaint town surrounded by the stunning backdrop of the Italian Alps.

In this walking tour, we’ll leisurely explore Chiusa’s pristine streets, graced by charming South Tyrolean houses. As we meander through the town, we’ll unveil its hidden nooks, share intriguing facts, and highlight the treasures that have earned it the title “the City of Artists”. After climbing Mount Sabiona, we’ll discover an old fort-monastery full of surprises!

Timestamps:
[00:00] *Welcome to Chiusa*
[00:40] *Città Alta* – the main entrance road
[03:30] *Parrocchia Square* – the main square of the town
[04:00] *Chiesa di Sant’Andrea* – a fine example of the Tyrolese-Gothic church
[05:00] *Isarco River (⭐)* – The river that lends its name to the valley it traverses.
[09:50] *Città Bassa* – Later section of the main road
[11:10] *Tinne Square* – a charming little square
[13:10] *Tinne creek* – a tributary of the Isarco river
[21:20] *Mount Saben trail* – il sentiero che conduce all’abbazia
[22:10] *Panoramic spot* – enchanting view of Chiusa’s rooftops
[23:50] *Branzoll Castle* – the captain’s tower
[26:00] *Panoramic spot (⭐)* – scenic view halfway up the trail
[29:10] *Saben Abbey (⭐)* – a fortification turned into a nunnery
[30:50] *Jubilee Fountain* – Fountain for the Convent’s tricentennial
[32:30] *Holy Cross Church* – an amazing collection of frescoes
[36:15] *Church of Our Lady* – a Baroque gem from 1652
[41:20] *Panoramic spot (⭐)* – view from the top of the abbey
[46:32] *Seebegg district* – the modern part of Chiusa
[47:50] *Dürer stone* – A tribute to the famous German artist
[48:15] *Final view (🥇)* – the view that inspired Dürer’s painting

📜 Turn on the CAPTIONS to read descriptions, historical facts and lots more!

🇺🇸/🇬🇧 Closed Captions are available in English.

📌 PLAYLIST SOUTH TYROL (Updated 2024):
https://bit.ly/south-tyrol

👉 Merano: https://bit.ly/merano-tour
👉 Ortisei: https://bit.ly/ortisei-walking-tour

#Chiusa #Klausen #southtyrol #italy #4k #walkingtour

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In this tour, we’ll take you on a walk through Chiusa, a true beauty in the heart of the Isarco Valley in the far north of Italy. To learn more about this town, please turn on the subtitles. Chiusa (or Klausen in Deutsch) is a typical South-Tyrolese town.

The old town is accessible through this main road, the backbone of the village loved by locals and tourists alike. The road, split into Città Alta and Città Bassa, gets its name from linking the upper and lower parts of Chiusa. We’re currently in Città Alta.

The town is also known as “the City of Artists” because it has enchanted a lot of painters and writers, especially from Germany and Austria, throughout its history. Like many villages in South Tyrol, Chiusa stands out for its meticulous attention to detail and impeccable aesthetics.

Everything is thoughtfully maintained to provide visitors with a sense of care, hospitality, and beauty. The main road opens up into Piazza Parrocchia, a lovely square where people like to gather for a coffee and a chat. Overlooking the square is the Church of Sant’Andrea, the parish church in Chiusa.

Built in a Gothic style, it was erected at the end of the 15th century on the ruins of an ancient Romanic church. This bridge crosses the Isarco River, the second-longest river in South Tyrol. This peaceful river gives its name to the Isarco Valley, one of the two main valleys in South Tyrol.

The foliage makes this view look like a wonderful painting. Right there on top you can see the main tour attraction: the monastery — don’t miss it! To the left of the church is the Bridge Tower (Brückenturm), the town’s last surviving original barrier tower from the 15th century.

We are now going to walk through the Città Bassa, the “lower part” of the town. Since 2002, Chiusa has been part of the association of Italy’s most beautiful towns. This is partly due to its adorable architecture that reflects the classical South Tyrolean style.

Pastel-colored houses, bay windows, ancient emblems on the walls, sloping roofs, and wrought-iron signs are what characterize Chiusa the most. The name “Chiusa” derives from the Latin word clausa, which means “closed”.

The name reflects the village’s strategic location in a narrow valley, that could be easily “closed” to defend against enemies in case of need. The big lock statue in the middle of this square refers to the origin of the town’s name. Piazza Tinne is the second main square of the village.

It’s a very picturesque area, lined with hotels and buildings built in a Tyrolese style. Piazza Tinne takes its name from this lovely creek, which flows directly into the Isarco River. More than 90% of the roughly 5,000 inhabitants of Chiusa are German native speakers, making it one of the most German-speaking municipalities in Italy.

The remaining population spoke Italian, Ladin, or another language. The German-speaking population of Chiusa has a very long history. The town was founded in the 12th century by German-speaking settlers from the Tyrol region, who were attracted by the fertile valleys and trade routes in the area.

These settlers brought their language and culture with them, which gradually became the dominant language of the region. Up there you can see the Castel Branzoll; we’ll reach it shortly. German’s dominance in the city was further cemented by the centuries-long influence of the Habsburg Empire, a multilingual state with a significant German population.

Furthermore, the town is located in the autonomous province of South Tyrol (Bozen), which is a predominantly German-speaking region in northern Italy. This helped to isolate the region from the rest of Italy and preserve the German language. In 2022, South Tyrol welcomed over 34.4 million visitors, a 2.1% increase from the pre-COVID year 2019.

From 1990 to 2022 the number of tourists in South Tyrol has nearly doubled, going from 23 million to 34 million. Germans lead the pack, making up about 49% (around 16.7 million) of total stays, followed by Italians (31%), Swiss, Austrians, and Dutch.

Chiusa is well-connected to nearby South Tyrolean towns thanks to its convenient train station. The village is only a 7-minute train ride from Bressanone and 25 minutes from Bolzano, the capital city of South Tyrol.

You may also reach Merano by train; it’s a big city but definitely worth a visit if you plan to spend some time here. Let’s turn here to go visit the monastery. This is the starting point of the pathway that links the monastery to the heart of the village.

We need to follow Pathway No. 0, which is approximately a 30-40 minute walk depending on fitness level. After climbing for a few minutes, you’ll have a fantastic view over the roofs of Chiusa. The route covers around 2.8 kilometers. Starting from 520 meters above sea level, we’ll reach an altitude of around 730 meters.

The trail has medium difficulty, but if you need it you can stop anytime to take a short break. Halfway through the pathway is Castel Branzoll, also known as The Captain’s Tower. Beautifully surrounded by vineyards, it was erected in the mid 13th century.

From this point, climbers can opt for two pathways to the monastery. One is the Sentiero del Castagno (Chestnut Pathway), a 90-kilometer-long trail that connects Bressanone to Bolzano. Since I’ve already chosen this path in a previous video, this time I opted for the other one, promising heart-stopping views!

I had to stop filming here as the trail wasn’t going to be very interesting. Let’s go a little bit further up the path. The trail is worth it just to experience these incredible views across the entire valley. Let’s keep going on. We’re almost done.

After visiting the monastery, we’ll head to the Seebegg district on the opposite side for a unique view of Mount Sabiona. It’s one of the most gorgeous viewpoints in Chiusa, so make sure you keep watching until the end of the tour.

The Sabiona Monastery (also known as Säben Abbey) was a Benedectine nunnery that was established in 1687. A former Roman settlement once occupied this site, later replaced by an episcopal fortification. The fortification has been the administrative center of the entire Diocese for centuries.

The first building visible upon entering is the Monastery Church, built in the second half of the 17th century. This Jubilee Fountain was commissioned in 1986 in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the monastery. The fountain celebrates the monastery as a pilgrimage site, portraying devotees symbolically drinking from the source of faith.

Since 1687, the nuns have lived inside the monastery and survived lots of pillages and many difficult times. Over the last 300 years, around 500 nuns have made this abbey their residence. Dating back to the Middle Ages, the Church of Santa Croce is one of the monastery’s highlights.

In the apse is the crucifixion by Leonhard von Brixen, completed in 1679. The virtuous paintings adorning the walls were likely created by local artist Johann Baptist Hueber. The massive fresco that adorns the ceiling uniquely portrays themes of the Passion.

The complex is nestled amidst a picturesque valley, surrounded by vineyards, chestnut groves and fir trees. After the last nuns relocated to other facilities in 2021, the complex is now being administered by the Diocese of Bressanone-Bolzano. This view is a sight to behold.

If you find this tour interesting, giving it a quick thumbs up would greatly help me create more tours across Italy. Thanks for your support. Scattered along the great walls of the monastery are many more little sanctuaries overlooking the panorama.

The monastery is entirely surrounded by mighty walls which recalls the ancient past of the site as a fortification. Walking along the walls, we finally get to the Church of Our Lady which features a unique octagonal shape. The church was erected between 1652 and 1658 on the site of an earlier Christian church.

The pure-white plaster contrasts beautifully with the colored Baroque decorations and ornaments. Let’s pause and admire the ceiling adorned with splendid stuccoes by Baroque painter Stefan Kessler. One last look before exiting. I could spend a whole day exploring the grounds and savoring such wonderful views.

It’s now time to leave the monastery and keep on with our tour. I promised you an unforgettable view over Mount Säben…let’s go! Here we are on the opposite side of the river: the Seebegg district, just a 5-minute walk from Piazza Parrocchia.

Despite being the newest part of Chiusa, this district holds a legend that goes back a long way. You may not know that the famous German artist Albrecht Dürer stayed in Chiusa in 1494 and fell in love with this area.

He walked on this pathway and stopped here to draw a sketch of the view, which is unfortunately now lost. This stone marks the spot where Dürer found inspiration for his painting over 500 years ago.

The view from here is simply stunning. You can see Mount Sabiona, the monastery, the Captain’s Tower, and the ancient village of Chiusa all in one breathtaking panorama. Thanks for watching!