Avelengo/Halfing - Merano 2000

The picturesque village of Avelengo/Hafling, at about 10 km from Merano, lies on a sunny plateau above Merano hollow.
In summer, the town offers to its guests the possibility of practising thousand activities, from walks, to mountain excursions or the more binding mountain climbing, from bike journeys to horse trekking, obviously always surrounded by the wonderful sceneries of the peaks of the Tessa Group, of the Brenta and of the Ortles.
In winter, on the contrary, the closeness to the skiing area of Meran 2000, turns Avelengo into a friendly winter resort where to practise all the winter sports. Avelengo presents many interesting places, starting from the church of Saint Caterina, a building dated back to 1251 which has become the symbol of the village, since it can be seen from all the surrounding area. Inside the church, which unluckily can be seen only from a hole in the door, there are interesting frescoes of the XV century.
Other interesting places which are worth a visit are the Parish church of Saint John with a prehistoric relief on the external wall and the gothic tabernacle on the road to maso "Nusser".
But Avelengo is known all over the world for another reason. The town, in fact, is the cradle of the haflinger horses, which name comes from the German name of the village (Hafling). The horse, which can be easily recognized from its blond mane, was at first selected as beast of burden and recently, in the '60s and '70s it became popular for its sports skills.