Ponte Gardena, known in German as Waidbruck, is a tiny municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy, with just over 200 residents. It lies in the narrow Isarco Valley at the entrance to Val Gardena, around 23 kilometres northeast of Bolzano, and has long occupied an important position on the route through the Alps towards the Brenner Pass. The settlement is dominated by Trostburg Castle, which stands high above the village and dates from the late 12th century. Enlarged during the following centuries, it became the ancestral seat of the Wolkenstein-Trostburg family and was associated with the medieval poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein. Today the castle contains preserved Gothic and Renaissance interiors as well as the South Tyrolean Castle Museum. Ponte Gardena is also a useful transport point for the surrounding Dolomites, with a railway station and bus connections towards Val Gardena, Castelrotto and nearby Chiusa.
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