DoloMythos Museum

Amateur archaeologist, writer, and filmmaker Michael Wachtler founded the DoloMythos Museum, a museum about the Dolomites, in the Upper Val Pusteria valley in 1995. Fourteen years later, on June 26, 2009, the Dolomites, around which the legend of the Pale Mountains is woven, were declared a World Heritage Site. The museum is housed in the historically listed Villa Wachtler.

It is a beautiful castle-like building in the centre of San Candido village. At the museum, you'll embark on an exciting journey through time, from prehistory to the present day. You'll learn fascinating facts about the flora and fauna of the Dolomites, including dinosaurs, whose birthplace, according to recent research, is thought to be in the Dolomites.

Further highlights include the largest modern-day gold find in the Alps, the Conturines cave bear (to which the Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus in the Alta Badia is dedicated), and the prehistoric lizard "Megachirella wachtleri", an ancestor of snakes, iguanas, and lizards, named after the museum's founder. Outdoors, you can embark on a treasure hunt, searching for gemstones and fossils such as rock crystals, amethysts, and ammonites.

How to get there: The museum is located in the Villa Wachtler in the pedestrian zone of San Candido. Parking is available on the edge of the pedestrian zone. San Candido is also easily accessible by public transport, for example, by local train from Brunico (40 minutes).