In 1991, mountain climbers on the Ötztal Alps discovered a perfectly preserved 5,300 year-old mummy. Subsequently known as Oetzi, it did not take long for news of the discovery of the glacier mummy in the Schnalstal Valley to spread internationally.
For the past 30 years, the mummy has been the subject of continuous research at the
South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology (Südtiroler Archäologiemuseum) in Bolzano/Bozen, and continues to yield important information about life in the Neolithic Era.
Besides the reconstruction of Oetzi’s habitat at the
interactive archeoParc museum in the Schnalstal Valley, there are also
local routes leading to other Neolithic sites. The
Oetzi Glacier Tour retraces the
footsteps of Oetzi up to the Tisenjoch ridge, where he was discovered. The Iceman has also inspired artists, and is the subject of works such as the Inside Oetzi radio play and the musical composition Oetzi’s Fanfare.