Commonly known as "Door to the Dolomites" for its location with a magnificent view of the Three Peaks of Lavaredo, Dobbiaco (Toblach in German) is a municipality in the province of Bolzano, located in Val Pusteria, at the mouth of the Valley of San Silvestro and the Valley of Landro, on the border with the Natural Park of the Dolomiti di Sesto and the other one of Fanes-Senes-Braies.
The territories, that surround Dobbiaco, were inhabited by the Illyrians since the Iron Age, then Celtic tribes settled here, while in 15 B.C., the whole area submitted the military domain of Rome. In the nearby, the Romans built the "strada d'Alemagna" (road to Germany), a strategic connection with Northern Europe.
The town's name is reported, for the first time in 827, in antiques texts, such as "Duplaga", which was later known with German terms "Douplach" and "Toblach".
Besides the beautiful natural landscape, the panorama over the Dolomite massif, the white snow-covered slopes for skiing, worthy of visit are:
- Lake of Dobbiaco and Lake of Landro;
- the Herbstenburg Castle, an imposing military structure with tall battlements, located in the town center, originally consisted of only one large keep, which was granted, in the XVI century, to the brothers Christoph and Kaspar Herbst by Emperor Maximilian I of' Habsburg, who sheltered here on several occasions. Extensively remodeled and expanded in later centuries, the building is now privately owned;
- the Roter Turm (or Red Tower), built in 1430 for defensive purposes;
- the Town Hall, built in 1550;
- the Church of San Giovanni Battista, a splendid example of Baroque architecture, built on the remains of a church built by the Benedictines in the IX century;
- the oldest Way of the Cross of Tyrol, which touches five different chapels;
- the Sanctuary of Santa Maria, located in the district with the same name, located at 1322 meters above sea level;
- the Church of St. Nicholas;
- the Sanctuary of San Silvestro in the Alps;
- the old Church of Franadega.