South Tyrol’s Messner Mountain Museum

South Tyrol’s awe-inspiring Messner Mountain Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid architects and sitting atop Mount Kronplatz’s beautiful summit plateau (2,275m), is an ode to the history of mountaineering itself. Its 6-metre hanging terrace juts proudly out of the mountaintop, offering sweeping views out past all points of the South Tyrolean compass as well as incomparable mountainside vistas of the Alps and the Dolomites.

A permanent mountain museum dedicated to the history of traditional mountaineering, the Messner Mountain Museum, or MMM Corones as it is also known (or Plan de Corones) is the last of six mountainside projects to go up through South Tyrol and Belluno, each of which were lovingly driven and influenced by renowned mountaineering icon, Reinhold Messner, famed as the first mountain-climber to climb all 14 of the world’s peaks over 8,000 metres.

Messner envisioned the museum emerging from the mountain in three places: two windows looking out toward the peaks of Peitlerkofel and Heiligkreuzkofel, and a balcony facing Ortler and South Tyrol.

“The idea is that visitors can descend within the mountain to explore its caverns and grottos before emerging through the mountain wall on the other side, out onto the terrace overhanging the valley far below with spectacular, panoramic views,” Hadid said in a statement.

It’s made out of reinforced concrete walls, distributed in several levels and nuanced externally by the effect of the fiberglass to minimize the impact on the land; only the grid of steel incisions breaks the organic lines of this customized architecture, a symbol of respect and passion for mountains embodied by the study of Zaha Hadid.

As Reinhold Messner says himself: 'Corones' is the Latin word for 'crown', like 'Krone' in German. And Kronplatz... – South Tyrol’s famous mountain for skiers and hikers - … is now home to the crowning piece of my mountain museum project.

Offering unique views of the Dolomites and the Alpine mountain walls, as well as views out past all points of the compass – from the Lienz Dolomites in the east to the Ortler in the west and from the Marmolada in the south to the Zillertal Alps in the north, Kronplatz’s viewing platform is famed as the most incredible in all South Tyrol.

Kronplatz’s MMM Corones speaks of man’s 250-year old struggle with the mountain through art, memoir, relics and sculpture, while its classic Zaha Hadid concrete design mirrors the incredible mountainous South Tyrolean surroundings. 

Famed as a winter skiing haven and meeting place for Italian, Ladin and German cultures, the Messner Mountain Museum was built to revitalise Kronplatz in the summer months.

Kronplatz’s MMM Corones is for sure the perfect summer & winter-time stop-off.

Discover South Tyrol with our 25 fabulous hotels - From its perch in northern Italy, South Tyrol, or Alto Adige as it is also known, is a jewel of ancient cultures set in the mighty crown of the Alps. Nestled among the Dolomite mountains (a UNESCO World Heritage site) a marriage of languages and cultures comes together in the area’s healing spa towns, medieval hamlets, fairytale castles, wine trails and foodie destinations.

Known primarily for skiing, South Tyrol is also a year-round home to hiking, mountain biking and strolling through the botanical gardens at the base of its snow-capped mountains. At the end of the day, cap it all off with a signature hay bath or a dip in the healing thermal waters. This hidden Alpine part of Italy is well worth travelling to.

This is the South Tyrol where Austria snugs up to Italy.