...but it still feels like a world unto itself – with its own customs, hand-made arts and crafts and lots of  nature. The highest farms in South Tyrol in the municipalities of Sand in Taufers, Mühlwald, Ahrntal and Prettau, and traditions are upheld here as in the olden days.

Busy artisans at work
Rural handcrafts in South Tyrol have a centuries-old tradition. They had their heyday in the 19th and 20th centuries. Both small and large farmers did not just know how to use a plough and scythe, but skillfully handled other tools, too. Every farm had its own 'Machkammer', or workshop. The 'Kleinhäusler', or small farmers with little property, carried out handcraft as an additional source of income. As well as lace-making by the women of Prettau, another artisanal craft dominated the valley for centuries: woodcarving has its origins in the boredom experienced by shepherds in the Zillertal Alps as they were looking after sheep belonging the farmers of Ahrntal valley. Mini works of art were created out of roots and branches, which the shepherds then took down to the valleys with them, where they graced farm parlours. Soon work tools and crucifixes were carved in these workshops. The most popular motif of the carvers from Ahrntal valley has always grimacing witches or devils. The devil is said to have appeared to one woodcarver in person, which is how he knew what these figures looked like. The masks, or 'Larven', as they as known locally, make an appearance every year at the 'Krampusumzug' processions. Woodcarving is tightly bound up with play-acting. Troups of players used to go from farm to farm on winter evenings to perform in people's homes. The actors were men who used masks to portray their various roles. There is a woodcarving workshop in nearly every village. Visitors can purchase masks or other woodcarving staying in a holiday flat or room in Tauferer Ahrntal valley and watch the master craftspeople at work. A sun carved in wood has become the symbol of Tauferer Ahrntal valley.

In the middle of a nature reserve 
Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park borders on Hohe Tauern National Park to the west and comprises an area of 31,505 hectares. It can boast the highest number of glaciers of all nature parks in South Tyrol. The following municipalities are part of Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park: Ahrntal and Prettau, Sand in Taufers, Gais, Percha and Rasen-Antholz. Its abundance of water is typical for Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park, as seen in the high number of mountain streams and lakes as well as the Reinbach waterfalls, for example, which lie in the municipality of Sand in Taufers and are worth a trip on a Farm Holiday in Tauferer Ahrntal.

When Usche forced Michl...
...from the throne. The last fete in Pustertal is in Kasern in the municipality of Prettau in Tauferer Ahrntal. Its special feature is not the date, however, but the traditional tree, which does not have the traditional 'Kirschtamichl' dummy at the top, but its female counterpark – Usche (Ursula). This fete is celebrated on the Sunday after the 21st October, the day of St. Ursula. A statue of St. Ursula as the patron saint of the churhc may be found in the Holy Ghost Church at Kasern. Clocks tick a little bit differently in Tauferer Ahrntal. This once again shows that not only every valley, but every municipality and every village in South Tyrol, has written its own history and developed its own customs over the course of centuries.

Why you should take a Farm Holiday in Tauferer Ahrntal valley:

• The climate tunnels in Prettau
• Experiencing rural culture and tradition up close
• An active holiday in Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park