Fireman’s Helmet Museum

"I want to become a firefighter!" Who doesn't remember the little dragon Grisù and his dream? In the Hotel Burgfrieden in Gais village, it has at least become a little reality, as there is a unique museum on an area of 200 sqm that is completely dedicated to fireman's helmets. In decades of work, the owner, Franz-Josef Mairhofer, collected them. Today the Fireman's Helmet Museum - "Feuerwehrhelm-Museum" in German, "Museo degli Elmi dei Pompieri" in Italian - shows in a glass pyramid 700 helmets from all over the world and different epochs.

French metal helmets with hackle, helmets made of leather, steel and brass, plastic and even cardboard can be seen in the showcases. They come from South Tyrol as well as from all other European countries, furthermore from Cairo, the USA (New York), China, Egypt, Thailand, Guatemala, South Korea, Oceania and South America. The oldest dates back to Napoleon's time, while the most widely travelled is from the Kingdom of Bhutan. The Fireman's Helmet Museum is completed by some special badges, hatchets and officer's sabres as well as rare uniforms.

Every two years there is a collectors' meeting with participants from all over the world. And how to reach the museum? It is located in an annex of the Hotel Burgfrieden along the Valle Aurina road. Parking possibilities are available, the bus stops slightly in front of it at the roundabout.