Musikfest Pfunders

The Musikfest of the Musikkapelle Pfunders

The Musikfest Pfunders is the most anticipated event of the year for the small village of Fundres (Pfunders), an alpine hamlet nestled at nearly 1,000 meters in the depths of the Fundres Valley, a side valley of the lower Puster Valley that stretches north from the valley floor of Vandoies di Sotto to the foot of the Zillertal Alps. Fundres is one of the villages in the municipality of Vandoies/Vintl, in the province of Bolzano, in the heart of South Tyrol (Südtirol).

The festival is organized by the Musikkapelle Pfunders, the local brass band, a volunteer association that has accompanied the community life of Fundres for decades: processions, religious holidays, concerts, and the great summer festivals. The band also supports a Jugendkapelle (youth band), a Böhmische group (the characteristic Bohemian-Moravian music beloved throughout the Tyrolean region), and a Tanzlmusik dance group.

Two days of brass music under the marquee

The Musikfest takes place at the Festplatz in Pfunders, the village festival grounds, where a large marquee is set up. The program spans an entire weekend: the guest band on Saturday evening kicks off the festivities, while Sunday is dedicated to performances by guest brass bands from neighboring South Tyrolean towns and the nearby East Tyrol (Osttirol), alternating with Tanzlmusik and Böhmische groups that keep the party going until evening.

It is an authentic manifestation of South Tyrolean popular tradition: here, brass music is not folklore for tourists, but the true social glue of mountain villages. The festival is also an opportunity to enjoy South Tyrolean cuisine—traditional dishes, homemade desserts, beer, and wine—served by the band's volunteers, and to mingle with locals, hikers, and guests from the surrounding farms and alpine huts.

An event reborn every two years

The Musikfest does not have a fixed annual schedule: the Musikkapelle organizes it at intervals, typically every two years. After the July 2024 edition, the band announced the return of the festival for the summer of 2026, confirming Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19, 2026, as the dates for the event at the Festplatz in Fundres.

For those visiting the Puster Valley and the Fundres Valley in summer, the Musikfest is a perfect opportunity to immerse themselves in the village life of the high South Tyrolean mountains, surrounded by meadows, coniferous forests, and the peaks of the Zillertal Alps that enclose the valley.