Exhibition: Architecture on tour

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Tourism played a significant role here, as new construction trends “travelled” to the region along with the guests and architects. Villas, residential buildings and hotels were all built: the multifaceted legacy of Belle Époque tourism, many of these buildings are now listed as historic monuments.

In 1906, industrialist Friedrich Wannieck commissioned the Munich architects Alois and Gustav Ludwig to build the Villa Salgart in Meran. Soon afterwards, the two brothers opened a branch of their studio in Bozen. In addition to the villa and several grand hotels, they also built commercial buildings and educational institutions here up until 1914.

In 2022, the Ludwig brothers’ building plans were rediscovered in Meran and donated to the Touriseum, the South Tyrolean Museum of Tourism. Together with the University of Innsbruck, the Touriseum is currently conducting a research project into the architects’ life and work. Some of the research material is appearing in public for the first time here in the exhibition.

Almost all of the paths running through the gardens are wheelchair and stroller friendly; all stairs and grades over 8% are marked on the overview map. In the Visitors’ Center, manual and electric-powered wheelchairs are available for visitors, free of charge.

Bus numbers 1 and 4 depart at 20-minute intervals from the Merano/Meran town centre as well as the central railway station.