Description of the attraction
The Museum of the Great War in the resort town of Cortina d'Ampezzo is a major tourist attraction, consisting of several open-air exhibitions. The first part, the small Lagatsuoi Museum, is a real stone castle with towers, spiral staircases and military warehouses hidden inside. During the First World War, Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops dug numerous trenches and shelters in Mount Lagatsuoi to store weapons and uniforms in them and hide themselves, turning the mountain into a fortress of the 20th century. Today, this unique museum can be reached on foot or by car. Here you can order a guided tour in Italian, German or English, during which tourists will be introduced to the exhibition, stretching 650 meters in height. In winter, the museum can be visited as part of the Great War Ski Tour.
Another museum dedicated to the First World War is the Cinque Torri. During the fighting, the Austrians turned the summit of Sasso di Stria into a defensive fortress, from where they made forays into Lagatsuoi at night. In 1916, work began on the construction of the Goijinger Tunnel, which today can be reached by climbing onto Fort Tre Sassi. This fort also has its own history. At the end of the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire planned the construction of a number of fortifications in the Dolomites, which were supposed to contain possible Italian attacks on the Val Pusteria and Valle Isarco valleys. And for the defense of the Valparola mountain pass, Fort Tre Sassi was built. Its construction began in 1898 - the fort was equipped with 80 mm guns. Today on its territory you can see traces of past battles, as well as old photographs of that time and documents.
