During different periods of prehistory and protohistory and also in Roman Age and during the first Middle Ages the Plunacker in Villanders has been intensely attended and inhabited due to the enviable exposure. The discovery of the site happened accidentally in 1976 as a result of the opening of a trench for pipe laying works. The over-regional importance of the site is given from a sequence of archaeological layers dating back to different periods of Neolithic, which refer to a very big settlement that still lies mostly undiscovered and preserved in the underground. Nowadays, the remains of the Roman era and the medieval age is roofed over completely and thereby saved from influences of weather.

The „Pfunderer mine“ of Villandro was one of the most significant mining areas in Tyrol in medieval times. However, the mine was forgotten at the beginning of the 20th century. Due to the working of the cultic and museum association of Villandro the mine has been renovated in the last years and is open to the public now.

 

The little church of the saint Mauritius in Sauders is situated to the south of the village centre. The church was mentioned the first time in an official document in 1406. Around 1670 the little church was converted in a baroque style. However, the church and some surrounding houses were burned to ashes by the French in 1793. Nowadays, the painting at the high altar represents the patron saint of the church. The key for a visit can be received at the “Winklerhof – farm”.

The church of the saint Valentin is located by the side of the road from Chiusa to Villandro. It is a single-nave construction with a presbytery and a lateral spire. In 1303 the church was mentioned the first time, though it burned down around 1400. During the reconstruction the church received the impressive gothic stellar vault instead of the flat ceiling. The altar inside is a splendid carved work and displays the bishop saint Valentin. Frescos at the west façade, which depict mother Anne with Mary Baby Jesus, are valuable art property. The figures are petite with a soft and round arrangement of the folds. Around 1400 the so called beautiful and soft style reached Tyrol and the patterned halos and picture frames with geometric adornment were characteristics of the style.

In 1726 a little church was dedicated to the miners of the “Pfunderer” mine. However, it was immediately too small so that today’s construction of the Early Baroque with choir and little tower was built in 1736. The secluded little church was expanded in 1934, though plundered and devastated in 1964. Until the First Wold War there had have been a weekly mass, initially Saturdays, since 1840 every Thursday. The cultural and historical altarpiece is a replica, the original altarpiece is located in the parish church to the St. Stephen. It shows the miners at work and around them the saints of the miners. (St. Daniel, evangelist John, Virgin Mother with the baby Jesus and her mother the saint Anne, as well as patron saint of the mines Barbara)

The parish church exhibits worth seeing works: the high altar from 1884, side altars from 1903, the pulpit from 1867 and the Queen of the Rosary from the Baroque period around 1700. A high artistic value has also the oil painting of Franz Sebald Unterberger which represents the St. Stephen, as well as the glass painting with the subject of the miners of Villandro in 1520.

The chapel of the dead is situated at an altitude of 2186 metres between the mountain pass of Villandro and Sarentino on the high plateau of the Villandro Alp. The little church has to be renovated constantly due to the unique location. The last renovation was in 1981 by the “shooters of Villandro – Villanderer Schützen”. The crucifixion group inside the chapel is larger than life, for this reason it impresses every visitor. To the chapel of the dead leads a way of the cross which is 4 km long and has 14 stations. Besides, a way of the cross leads from Sarentino to the little church.

The lake Totensee, literally “lake of death” is less threatening than its name suggests.

The lake is located in a hollow below the well-known Chapple Totenkirchl. Surrounded by boulders and meadows, it is situated at an altitude of 2200 m. The macabre name comes from the agricultural expression “dead”, which can be interpreted as unprofitable.