Sigmundskron Castle / Messner Mountain Museum Firmian

Welcome to a very special location.
Welcome to Sigundskron Castle close to Bolzano, South Tyrolia, Italia.

There you find the MMM Firmian, one out of five museums of the MMM - the Messner Mountain Museum, a museum project by Italian mountaineer and extreme climber, Reinhold Messner.

Firmian is the centrepiece of the Messner Mountain Museum, based in Sigmundskron Castle.
The castle dates to the Late Middle Ages and houses the museum's headquarters, administration and event facilities. The museum was opened on 11 June 2006 after three years of restoration to the virtually ruined castle.

MMM Firmian addresses the subject of man's encounter with the mountains.
The theme of the museum is the history and art of mountaineering.

Messner wants to show "what effect the mountain has on people" as well as giving an understanding of mountains and mountain peoples.

So a large part of the museum is dedicated to main theme, Messner demonstrates this by means of pictures, sculptures, symbolic objects and memorabilia of various expeditions, which are portrayed as part of a tour through the castle.

Messner also displays the history of alpinism and the impact of alpinism and tourism on nature and the environment.

But the museum is more: it really defies its visitors.

You have to travel more than 400 meters in height up and down the stairs if you walk the way as given in the museum's plan to explore the whole exhibition.

But my favourite part of the museum was the great exhibition of the founders of religions from the mountains and their disciples.

Messner dispays a great collection of buddhas and other sculptures from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and other mountainous regions.

In this part of the exhibition you find a unique mixture of the medieval European architecture and a meditative atmosphere from the Himalaya region.

Sounds of Tibetan monks chanting prayers and mantras reinforced the spiritual mood of this place.

MMM - insights and prospects.