The best hotels in St. Jakob

Wood carvers and pilgrims in St. Jakob

What strikes visitors first, when they approach the South Tyrolean village of St. Jakob in the valley of Tauferer Ahrntal, is the church on the hill. The hill was created due to a landslide and the church on it – today trademark of the village - is consecrated to St. Jacob. The choice of Jacob, patron of pilgrims, can be explained with the once highly popular pass over the saddle of Hörndle. The walking paths today lead to the neighboring villages of Kasern, Prettau, Steinhaus and Luttach; but also to the end of the valley and beyond – over the lodge of Birnlücke and the Austrian border. During winter the hotels in St. Jakob offer good connections to the ski-resort Klausberg in Steinhaus and Speikboden. Also Kronplatz is not out of reach.

Among herding artists

The traditional farm village in the Northern part of Ahrntal is still mainly characterized by the farming industry. Besides it is well-known in the region for its high quality wood craft and carving school. The tradition of wood carving was born among the herders, who spent the summers on the alpine pastures. They started carving grimaces and masks out of roots and sticks, which were brought home in autumn along with the cattle, where they were used as decoration for the traditional Stuben (=snuggeries) back home.

Soon this tradition was also practiced during winter and more and more masks were carved - soon also suns, now the symbol of the valley. So the carving school of St. Jakob was born. Today almost every village in the upper valley has its own workshops where carving artists create a variety of figures – some of which make a fine souvenir. Find here the most beautiful hotels in St. Jakob in Ahrntal.