Have you discovered the Messner Mountain Museum Corones, one of the best museums in the heart of the breathtaking Dolomites? It celebrates the spirit of mountaineering with captivating exhibits and stunning views!
It was Day 5 of our Dolomite Road Trip, and the day before we were foiled on our way to Tre Cime. We could have tried again, but the weather was forecasted to be horrible. With rain, sleet, and snow, we were not going to drive up a mountain. Would you?
If you missed our Three Chimney Drive, check it out here.
Instead, we chose to check off a couple of museums and spend the day mostly inside. It was a fantastic decision. We’d already enjoyed the state-of-the art Lumen Museum, and now it was time for an architectural wonder, the Messner Mountain Museum Corones.
Visiting the Messner Mountain Museum Corones
I had read about the spectacular Messner museums before my trip to Italy. Reinhold Messner, famous for climbing all the peaks over 8,000 meters, had the vision to create six stunning museums about mountain climbing in northern Italy.
Our Dolomite Road Trip Looked like this:
- Drove from Ramstein area in Germany
- Overnighted in the Brenner Pass
- Day 1 – Vipiteno, Bolzano, and Selva Val Gardena (volksmarch)
- Day 2 – Siusi, Seiser Alm, Compatsch and Kastelruth – Cow festivals
- Day 3 – Völs am Schern, Tiers Cow Festival, Via Coller, St. Magdalena Bacon Festival
- Day 4 – Tre-Cime and Lago di Braies
- Day 5 – Kronplatz Peak, The Lumen Mountain Photography Museum and the Messner Mountain Climbing Museum
- Day 6 – 9 – Back to Bolzano, Bergamo, Annecy and the Retours des Alpages
Download a snapshot pdf of our Dolomite road trip for further planning.
I was determined to go to at least one, and I’m not sure if I picked the best one, but it was exactly what I’d hoped it to be, so I was more than happy.
Designed by Zaha Hadid, the building itself is a piece of art. It is largely built underground in order to not intrude too much on the landscape, and when you are inside, there are tubes and leading lines showing you where to look to get the best views of the Zillertal mountains.
The architecture was the main reason this was my first choice of the six Messner museums to visit, and yes, the exhibits or mountaineering equipment, stories of mountaineers, and spectacular artwork are impressive as well, but for me, it was mainly about the building itself.
If you love to take portraits in stunning places, you will want to visit the museum. Both inside and out, there were plenty of really great spots for stunning photos.
Our Rating
I gave the Messner Mountain Museum Corones four stars, because it is definitely someplace that you should see. Between the stunning architecture and the exhibits, it’s a great way to spend a couple of hours, especially on a less-than-perfect weather day. Although, if the weather had been better, so would the views…so I don’t know. Just put it on your itinerary.
Getting to the Messner Mountain Museum Corones
The whole idea of these amazing mountain museums is in the title, “Mountain.” So, to get here, you have to take the Kronplatz ski gondola up the mountain. The gondola is not cheap (about 50 Euro per adult, but check their website.)
The cost almost turned us away, but what else were we going to do on such a crappy weather day like this? So we forged ahead.
With your gondola ticket, the Messner Museum is free. So hold on to it!
The address to put in your GPS is: 39030 Mareo, Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, Italy
Conclusion
If you are visiting northern Italy, take the gondola up Kronplatz and visit the Messner Mountain Museum Corones along with the Lumen Museum. You will be surprised. They will be some of the highlights of your trip!
Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.
