Eleven market days between 29 November and 27 December 2026 at the Pietralba sanctuary, in the municipality of Deutschnofen (Nova Ponente): local crafts, handmade gifts and food from the valley, always from 10:30 to 19:00.
The sanctuary of Madonna di Pietralba, Maria Weissenstein in German, stands at 1,520 metres on the Regglberg plateau, at Petersberg (Monte San Pietro), part of the municipality of Deutschnofen (Nova Ponente). The sanctuary's own website calls it the most important place of pilgrimage in South Tyrol. According to tradition, in the mid-16th century the Virgin appeared to a farmer, Leonardo Weissensteiner, who built a small chapel and hung a little bell in it: that chapel still stands.
On eleven days between 29 November and 27 December, almost all of them weekends or holidays, the sanctuary hosts a Christmas market. The Eggental tourist board describes it as a mix of traditional atmosphere, local crafts and regional food, with local produce and handmade gift ideas. It is the only Christmas market in the valley that runs over several days: in the eggental.com programme those in Steinegg (Collepietra) on 29 November and in Deutschnofen (Nova Ponente) on 8 December each last a single day.
The same programme includes an evening lantern walk at Lake Carezza on 12 and 19 December and a torchlit walk with a bonfire that starts in Deutschnofen. A market on the shore of the lake is mentioned, without dates, on the events page of carezza.it, but it is not in the Eggental programme for 2026.
Where Christmas market at the Pietralba sanctuary (Maria Weissenstein) falls in the Dolomites year, and what happens in the other weeks: Best time to visit the Dolomites: a month-by-month guide.
Good to know
- Admission: The official page mentions no admission ticket. You pay for what you buy and eat.
- The market is open on Sunday 29 November, from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December and on the weekends of 12 and 13, 19 and 20, and 26 and 27 December, always from 10:30 to 19:00.
- The sanctuary, looked after by the Servite friars, is open every day from 7:00 to 19:00 without a break. Sunday and holiday Masses in Italian are at 9:00, 11:00 and 15:00 (timetable from 1 November to 31 March), those in German at 10:00, 14:00 and 16:00.
- By bus: line 181 from Bolzano and Birchabruck (Ponte Nova); line 184 from Welschnofen (Nova Levante), Carezza and Passo Costalunga, and from Deutschnofen, Obereggen and Eggen; from Steinegg (Collepietra) and Gummer (San Valentino) take the 182 to Birchabruck and change to the 181 or 184.
- By car: A22 motorway, Bolzano Nord-Val d'Ega exit, then the SS241 up the Eggental; at Birchabruck (Ponte Nova) turn right for Deutschnofen and Petersberg. Allow about 30 minutes from the motorway exit.
Official website (tickets & info) ↗
Dates, times and prices change every year: always check the official pages before you go.