South Tyrolean Castles Museum

High above Ponte Gardena in the Isarco Valley sits Trostburg Castle, dating back to the 12th century. For centuries, it was owned by the Tyrolean aristocratic family of the Counts of Wolkenstein-Trostburg, to which the minstrel Oswald von Wolkenstein belonged.

Trostburg Castle has been open to the public since 1977. Since 2005, it has housed the South Tyrolean Castles Museum (Südtiroler Burgenmuseum), which, across three rooms, tells the story of South Tyrol's castles up to the present day. Today, the complex is in the hands of the South Tyrolean Castle Institute. This institute also manages other sites, such as Tures Castle in the Tures and Aurina Valleys. Founded in 1963, the volunteer association has made it its mission to promote the research and documentation of South Tyrolean castles and palaces and to raise awareness of the preservation of these historic buildings. The Castle Institute also collaborates with Italian and international associations, for example, the International Castle Institute (Europa Nostra), the Association of German-Speaking Castle Associations (ADV), and the European Castle Institute.

As part of the permanent exhibition "Castles - Monuments of History", the museum displays 86 scale models of South Tyrolean castles. The exhibition begins with an introduction to the world of South Tyrolean castles. Here, you can make comparisons between the various castles. Room 2 displays models from the years 1923-1963. In room 3, the exhibition focuses on the life stories of model maker Ludwig Mitterdorfer (1885-1963) and researcher Josef Weingartner (1885-1957).

How do get to the South Tyrolean Castles Museum? From Ponte Gardena (car park), the paved Trostburg Path leads up to Trostburg Castle in 15 minutes on foot. The Burgfrieden Path is slightly longer, at 30 minutes, but less steep.