subject: Hiking in the Italian Dolomites – The Great Laranzer Circuit [print this page] Hiking in the Italian Dolomites The Great Laranzer Circuit
When the Brenner Railway went into operation, and a street was built soon thereafter connecting the valley with the Italian Dolomites villages Kastelruth and Seis, a new epoch began for the up to then insignificant small village Seis. Well-to-do people from Bozen (Bolzano) - attracted by the climatic excellence of the area and its scenic beauty built now here their chalets for summer vacations. Extravagant cottages developed, where wealthy leisure seekers from all over the world spent their summer months, King Frederick Augustus of Saxony and his family included. The nature lover and mountaineer 1904-1932 stayed several times in the Dolomites, obviously found special delight in the village Seis and liked to walk from there to a viewpoint at the western edge of the Laranzer forest. The local population soon called it "die Koenigswarte", meaning the royal viewpoint.
Over time the king was forgotten, but the name "Koenigswarte" remained. Everyone believed that the spectacular "kinglike" viewpoint was the reason for the name. That also was not so wrong, because one can throw from this small rocky outcrop one's gaze almost endlessly: far beyond the valley of Bozen up to the Oetztaler Glaciers, to the Ortler Group, and over to the high summits of the Adamello Massives, where high above the Eisack Valley the little temple St. Verena high on a rocket outcrop sits enthroned.
But how do we get to "Koenigswarte"? The best way by hiking along the "The Great Laranzer Circuit", a hiking trip that leads around a wooded Porphyry hilltop. We should calculate about two walking hours for this easy hike. The trail with the marking 5' is suitable for the point of departure Kastelruth. It turns off beneath the Hotel Schoenblick and leads also to Telfen.
Above the nursery we follow an asphalt road that leads past an equestrian place to Lanzinhoefen. At a crossroad we reach the actual trail (marked no. 5). It leads slightly ascending through wooded slopes until we reach a junction. Here we could opt for the shorter variant, the "Little Laranzer Circuit". It leads to the "Mushroom Trail" and thereafter past the local sports ground back to Telfen.
An excursion to the "Mushroom Trail" is especially recommended for families. In the middle of a very dense forest a local artist has erected man-high wooden sculptures alongside a narrow trail. They exhibit the abundant growing, different fungus species of the Laranzer forest. Involuntarily one thinks of a fairy tale forest, where fairies, dwarfs, or other mythical creatures could suddenly appear between the rocks and tree trunks. At the highest point of the ridge is a wooden structure with a viewing platform, which allows a spectacular view of the near and distant environment. Back to the "Big Laranzer Circuit" (marked no. 5) we come to the Koenigswarte, secured by a wooden fence. There we can comfortably rest on a bench and simultaneously enjoy the beautiful view. The last part of the hiking trail leads in part through a forest with young pines, partly through rocky and sunny terrain where in spring heather blooms abundantly. The trail then merges into a meadow landscape. From there a broad gravel road leads along the Laranzhof, an impressive manor decorated with merlons, to a crossroad. To the right you return in direction Seis, to the left an asphalt road leads back to Telfen and further on to Kastelruth.
