Dobbiaco

The gateway to the Dolomites between the Val Pusteria and the Cadore, a hub towards Lake Braies, the Tre Cime and the cycle path.

A short history

Dobbiaco, Toblach in German, sits at 1,256 metres where the Val Pusteria meets the valley that drops towards Cortina and the Cadore. Because of this position it has long been called the gateway to the Dolomites. Roads passed through here and, from 1871, so did the railway that opened the mountains to tourism.

The old village keeps its historic layout around the parish church of Saint John the Baptist, a large Baroque building from the mid eighteenth century. Nearby, New Dobbiaco was born with the railway. The Grand Hotel rose here, a destination for the European bourgeoisie of the late nineteenth century, and in these summers the composer Gustav Mahler found refuge and wrote some of his last works.

Today Dobbiaco is a year-round tourist centre. It is a hub of roads and cycle paths, a starting point towards Lake Braies and the Tre Cime, and the venue of a busy calendar of events. Around it remain Lake Dobbiaco, the woods and the meadows that made its name.

What to see

• The Val Pusteria cycle path, which crosses Dobbiaco along the Drava towards Austria and towards Brunico.
• Lake Braies, reached in a few kilometres from the village, with its historic wooden boats.
• The Baroque church of Saint John the Baptist and New Dobbiaco with the Grand Hotel, tied to Gustav Mahler's stay.