Gröden / Val Gardena

Gröden is one of the best-known Dolomite valleys and part of the famous Sellaronda ski circuit around the Sella massif. Above the valley rise the Langkofel and the striking plateau of the Seceda. Gröden is also a centre of Ladin culture and a centuries-old woodcarving tradition.

Highlights

• Part of the Sellaronda ski circuit
• Seceda and Langkofel as a backdrop
• Ladin culture and woodcarving
• UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

The Val Gardena, in Ladin Gherdëina and in Italian Val Gardena, is one of the heartlands of Ladin culture in the Dolomites. In the villages of Selva, Santa Cristina and Ortisei, Ladin is still spoken today, that ancient Romance language which arose from the Latin of Roman times and has survived in the secluded valleys over the centuries. Beyond this language, one craft above all shapes the region: wood carving. Since the 17th century the people of Val Gardena have made nativity figures, images of saints and toys, which were once carried out into all the world by travelling pedlars.

The valley is framed by some of the finest Dolomite peaks, among them the massive Langkofel and the rugged Puez group, whose pale rock towers consist of the petrified reefs of a primeval sea. Over the surrounding passes such as the Passo Gardena and the Passo Sella run old connections to the neighbouring valleys, which today form part of the famous Dolomite circuit. The old tradition of wood carving lives on to this day in numerous workshops, and in Ortisei a museum of its own recalls Ladin history, language and folk art. In winter the lifts of the ski area connect the valley with the famous Sellaronda, that ski circuit which leads in a single day around the mighty Sella massif. Thus in Val Gardena a rare linguistic and cultural independence combines with a mountain backdrop that ranks among the World Natural Heritage and gives the region its unmistakable character.