Braies/Prags

The Valley of Braies, between the villages of Monguelfo/Welsperg and Villabassa/Niederdorf, surrounded by the wonderful Dolomites of Braies, offers to its visitors a stunning landscape and an uncontaminated nature.

The valley consists in the three hamlets of Braies di Fuori, Braies di Dentro and San Vito, and the main village is Ferrara, in German Schmieden, i.e. "forge".
The name "Braies" comes from the Celtic "Bracu", that is to say marsh, but the first written documents go back to 965-974 A.D.

The valley offers two special jewels: the Lake of Braies (1496 m) and the Plateau of Prato Piazza (2000 m), both destination of journeys and excursions, as well as the several paths in the valley bottom, at higher altitudes and in the Natural Parc of Fanes, Sennes e Braies.
Along the paths you can admire old maso, little chapels and alpine churches and, among these, two are certainly worth a mention. They are the Church of the Redemptor in Ferrara/Schmieden, built in 1735 upon the ruins of a previous chapel dated 1690 and famous for the ancient frescoes found during a restoration in 1981, and the Parish Church of St.Vito, first consecrated in 1355 and well known for its wonderful vault and the neo-gothic altar.
In winter, when snows covers the valley, fun is the password.
Indeed, here you can practice alpine and Nordic skiing, toboggan, snowboard… along the ski runs of the valley, which is associated to the skiing district of Alta Pusteria and to the "Dolomiti Superski" carousel.
And if this is not enough, the lifts of the ski area Plan de Corones are not far away.