Merano Arcades

Separated by a narrow lane, the Merano/Meran Laubengasse arcade with shops on either side originated from what used to be the old water and mountain arcades. The former was closer to the river, and the latter nearer the mountain.  

Built sometime around 1200 at the behest of Meinhard II, the then Count of Tyrol decreed that the Laubengasse arcades should exceed those in Bolzano/Bozen by at least 100 metres. Starting at Pfarrplatz square, the lower Laubengasse arcades are a double row of buildings extending around 400 metres as far as the Kornplatz square. Interspersed with oriels and archways the Laubengasse façades bear the stylistic influences of several epochs. Before the creation of the Sparkassenstraße/Galileistraße streets intersection in 1913, the Merano Laubengasse was the longest commercial arcade in all Tyrol.


With its abundant boutiques, shops, cafés, and restaurants the Merano Laubengasse arcades are one of the old town’s foremost retail areas. In this shopping area that over the centuries grew more or less haphazardly you’ll find everything. Local boutiques and international fashion houses rub shoulders with coffee houses and restaurants, groceries and arts and crafts, not to mention numerous specialist shops.