South Tyrolean Castles Museum

Trostburg Castle, enthroned above Ponte Gardena, dates back to the 12th century. It was owned by the significant Tyrolean noble family of the Counts of Wolkenstein-Trostburg for centuries - also the minstrel Oswald von Wolkenstein, born in 1377, belonged to this family and was raised at the castle. It has been open for public already since 1977, and for some years now it houses the South Tyrolean Castles Museum - "Südtiroler Burgenmuseum" in German, "Museo dei Castelli dell'Alto Adige" in Italian - which tells the interesting story of the castles in the region.

Castel Trostburg is owned today by the South Tyrolean Castle Institute, a volunteer association founded in 1963, which is also in possession of other complexes such as Castel Tures in the Valle di Tures valley. The association aims at researching and documenting the South Tyrolean castles as well as preserving the ancient walls and to raise awareness for the cultural heritage. It also cooperates with Italian associations and international federations such as Europa nostra, the project team of German speaking castle associations (ADV) and the European Castle Institute.

In the frame of the exhibition "Castles - Monuments of History", the museum shows 86 models of South Tyrolean castles that are true to scale. The exhibition starts with an introduction into the world of these castles, with an interesting comparison of the single buildings. Room 2 shows models of the years 1923 to 1963. The exhibition in room 3 is dedicated to the life of the modeller Ludwig Mitterdorfer (1885 - 1963) and the castle researcher Josef Weingartner (1885 - 1957). And how to reach the museum? The paved Trostburg Path leads from Ponte Gardena (parking space) up to the castle (15 minutes). The Burgfrieden Path is less steep but longer (30 minutes).