Altitude: 786-1,100 m
Population: 2,622
Location: 8 km from Bruneck and 22 km from Brixen
How to get there: 20 km (on the SS 49 national road) from the motorway exit (A 22) - Ehrenburg railway station
Bus: direct connection to Bruneck, from there connections to all nearby valleys
Guest beds: 1,677 of which:
Hotels/inns/pensions/guest houses/apartment houses: 1,429
B&Bs: 90
Holiday apartments: 158
Camping: (only in summer) 130 pitches, restaurant, bar, outdoor swimming pool.

The lovely villages Kiens, Ehrenburg, St. Sigmund and Hofern are situated
amidst the romantic Pustertal valley, embedded within an impressive
landscape of high mountains, green meadows, crystal clear mountain lakes and
snow covered mountain peaks. Escape everyday life and enjoy hiking, skiing
or cycling. All your wishes will become true on 800 m altitude. Welcome!

History: The parish of Kiens is one of the oldest in the valley of Pustertal. During the farmers’ wars it was often the meeting point of the „Rebaptized group“, a catholic group. The marksmen of Kiens fought very hard during the battle at the Berg Isel near Innsbruck during the Tyrolean War for Freedom. During the 12th century Castle Ehrenburg was the seat of the Sirs of Ehrenburg.
1660 the Lords von Künigl got their title and they are still nowadays the owners of the castle. The family was a very close relative of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II.
Personalities: Kaspar Ignaz von Künigl - bishop of Brixen from 1702 until 1747 and important reformer of the church.

The parish church St. Petrus and Paulus in Kiens was built between 1835 and 1838. Only the tower dates back to the 15th century. The paintings on the ceiling are remarkable.

At the parish church St. Martin in Hofern the longhouse walls are romanic, the vaults, the choir and the tower were built in the year 1473. At the inside there is a sidepiece altar which dates bach to the year 1520.

The Castle Schöneck was built in the 13th century and was the residence of the Sirs von Schöneck. In the year 1378 the castle was taken over by the Lords of Görz. Supposedly Oswald von Wolkenstein was born there.

The milestone of the roman emperors Septimus Severus, Caracalla end Geta was found in 1928 to the west of the village of Casteldane- Italy in the vicinity of the “Hinterbühel” and was inserted in a country wail.
The measurements of the stone (local quartziferous porphyry) are as follows:
Over-all height: 1.95 m
Top circumference: 1.54 m
Central circumference: 1.71 m
Bottom circumference: 1.89 m
The engraved surface measures 82 cm in height and 74 cm in width: the average height of the letters is 4 cm. The milestone dates back to 201 AD and indicates the distance from Aguntum, a roman town close to the modern city of Lienz-Austria.

Starting point: Kiens (782 m) at the tourist office; parking facilities nearby, bus stop.
Cross the main road (state road SS 49), and between the Gasthof Gatterer (inn) and the Sparkasse bank building head south down to the bridge across the River Rienz. Walk over the bridge and through the railway underpass and now always follow the No 5 blue-and-white trail markers: first walk east for about 300 m, then turn south and proceed on that path until you reach the first houses of Ehrenburg. From there continue on the tarmac road for about 100 m as far as the turn-off for the “Straße am Römerstein” (road).
Now proceed in a westerly direction, always following the No 5 blue-and-white markers to the milestone. From there initially keep heading west and subsequently take the track which runs north until you reach the road which runs parallel to the railway lines. From there walk east back to the Rienz bridge and to the starting point.
Total walking time: about 1 ½ hours
Standard: easy
Summary: this walk is especially interesting from a botanical point of view since the vegetation is rich and varied.

The parish church in St. Sigmund is one of the most beautiful historical monuments in Southtyrol. First mentioned in the year 1363, todays building was build between 1449 and 1489. The altar (1440) is one of the oldest and most important sidepiece altars in Southyrol.

The church “Unsere liebe Frau im Stöckl” was built in the year 1621 and enlarged in the year 1644. It was built totally new in the year 1680.

Visit to the mountain pine oil distillery and to the herb garden between Kiens and Issing.
(200 m from the Issinger Weiher)
Controlled organic cultivation of more than 70 medicinal herbs and spices.
Daily distillation and free guided visits from May to November.
MON - FRI from 8 am to 12 noon and from 1 pm to 6 pm.
From 16 July to 31 August open on SAT and SUN too.
Advance booking is required for groups of more than 10 people.
We sell our products in our herb shop and via post all year round.
We have been taking care of your health and well-being for three generations.
Our philosophy for the production of essential oils and herb products.
Our family-run establishment is located in the heart of the South Tyrolean Alps, at an altitude of 850 m. We have been producing essential oils and herb products since 1912.
Our products are made from wild plants which are gathered in alpine areas under the supervision of the forestry authority in order to conserve the countryside and preserve the existing alpine pastures. From this raw material high-quality essential oils are produced according to old-established and well-tried production methods and then offered as pure and natural oils to all those who are interested.
The cultivated herbs come from our own organic herb garden.
All productions steps from harvesting to packaging are carried out by hand in order to preserve the plants’ energy. The excellent quality of our products can be attributed to 90 years of experience as well as to the observation of the lunar calendar according to Maria Thun for the production and harvesting of the products.
We do not put a premium on quantity but on quality, and we take pride in offering our customers 100% pure essential oils as well as herb products with a high percentage of herb extracts and essential components.
Contented regular customers confirm our efforts to offer pure and natural products.
www.bergila.com  E-mail: info@bergila.com

Climate and vegetation are very varied. The neighbourhood-countries have permanently influenced our local traditional kitchen. Every visitor is enthusiastic about the spicy menus and the varied recipes of our country.
You will be spoiled by the varied Italian and traditional Tyrolian cooking, for example Schlutza, Grey-cheese, Tirtlan, Niggilan, Straubn, Strudel a.s.o. 

The South Tyrolean cuisine offers you a wide range of Italian dishes as well as a great variety of mouth-watering Tyrolean specialities such as Schlutza (small pasta crescents stuffed with a curd cheese and spinach filling and traditionally served with melted butter), Graukas (strong matured cottage cheese), Tirtlan (deep-fried round dough-cakes stuffed with various fillings), Niggilan (deep-fried yeast-risen pastry), Straubm (deep-fried batter in spiral form served with icing sugar and cranberries), Strudl and a lot more. 

Kiens
Hotel Gassenwirt, tel. 0474 565389, closed on THU
Gasthof/Pizz. Gatterer, tel. 0474 565326, closed on MON
Hotel zur Post, tel. 0474 565318, closed on SUN
Happy Snack, tel. 0474 565140, closed on SUN

Ehrenburg
Gasthof Obermair, tel. 0474 565339, closed on WED
Gasthof Knapp, tel. 0474 565324, closed on MON

St.Sigmund
Hotel Gisser, tel. 0474 569605, closed on TUE
Hotel Rastbichler, tel. 0474 569563,closed on MON
Hotel Sigmunderhof, tel. 0474 569553, closed on WED
Gasthof/Pizz. Petra, tel. 0474 569600, closed on TUE
Gasthof Steger, tel. 0474 569619, closed on MON & TUE

Hofern
Hotel Waldruhe, tel. 0474 565247, closed on TUE

Hikers’ inns
Hoferhof/Getzenberg, tel. 0474 565237
Rastnerhütte, Rodenecker Alm, tel. 0472 546422
Moarhofalm, tel. 0474 565486
Hofschenke "Schifferegger" a S. Sigismondo, Tel. 0474 569509