Sundials in South Tyrol

These sundials, often artistically and imaginatively designed, are not only beautiful to look at, but also count among the important cultural assets of the country.

The sundial is one of the oldest chronometers, with the gnomon, the vertical shadow stick, being its primitive form. From it, very precise sundials were already developed in the course of antiquity, and various forms are documented from Babylon through Egypt and Greece to the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, knowledge about the use and manufacture of sundials was almost completely lost, and in the Middle Ages at best simple wall sundials are found, which neither distributed the hours evenly throughout the day nor indicated them independently of the season. It was not until the Crusades that the lost knowledge was brought back to Europe via the Middle East.

From the Renaissance onwards, sundials experienced their heyday. They are now also very accurate timekeepers over the course of the year, but they also become the subject of artistic embellishment and decoratively adorn the walls of important buildings. Portable sundials also came into use. In South Tyrol, there are numerous sundials dating back to the 16th century (the year of origin is usually indicated on the clocks). Particularly beautiful "specimens" can be found in Sterzing, in Bruneck, in Niederdorf in the Puster Valley, in St. Ulrich in the Gröden Valley, in Eppan, Fennberg, Uttenheim, in Dorf Tirol, and Mauls in the Eisack Valley.

In addition, South Tyrol can also boast a very special and unique attraction: the probably largest sundial in the world! The famous Sexten sundial, however, was not created by human hands, but is a natural phenomenon of the highest order. It is formed by five Dolomite peaks that enclose the Fischlein Valley, the Neuner, the Zehner (also known as Sexten Rotwand), the Elfer, Zwölfer and Einser. From the right point of view – at Bad Moos – the sun stands exactly above the respective peak at the full hour! A trip to the largest sundial in the world is worth it not only because of the fantastically beautiful landscape of the Fischlein Valley.

A tip from the culture expert Sepp from South Tyrol