Slightly outside of the city center, the Deutschhaus is near the cathedral “Our Lady of Marsh [see].
Inside the palace there are the Civic and the Multscher Museums.
During the visit it is possible to admire from a balcony the baroque church of St. Elizabeth (1729) a small jewel with its vault frescoed by Matthäus Günther.
In the complex there are also the seats of the Musical Institute and the town band (Bürgerkapelle Sterzing).

The monumental complex absolutely deserves a visit even if you have to forgo a day of hiking or skiing.

A bit of history:
An ancient Marian hospice is documented to be here since 1234. In 1241 the nobleman Hugo von Taufers and his wife Adelheid founded in the same place a new hospice for the care and assistance of the poor.
On the death of the nobleman the complex was donated to the Teutonic Order^[*], a donation confirmed by the Pope in 1254.
The Knights continued to run the hospice and to expand their possessions in the area over the centuries.
In 1525 any kind of assistance to the poor and the sick ended so different frictions arose between the population and the Knights both for the scarce care of the sick and for the privileges held by the order.
Until Napoleonic dissolution the complex remained a property of the order and was then ceded to the Counts of Thurn und Taxis.
In 1884 a charity foundation of the citizens bought the Commandery from Count Ferdinand of Thurn und Taxis and returned the complex to its original charitable functions.

[*] military and hospital monastic order founded in 1191 in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.

For more info:
stiftung-deutschhaus.it
www.vipiteno.eu Museo Civico e Museo Multscher
www.musei-altoadige.it