Documented for the first time in the 13th century the Tratzberg castle was used as former border stronghold against the Bavarians and as Emperor Maximilian’s I hunting lodge. In the late 15th century the former fortress was destroyed by fire. The Emperor did not rebuild Tratzberg but exchanged the ruin for a castle of the Taenzels, wealthy owners of a silver mine. They had built the first late Gothic part of today’s Castle Tratzberg in 1500, in a particularly magnificent way, with artful ornaments made of marble, wood and iron. In 1554, Georg Knight of Ilsung, a wealthy merchant from Augsburg, acquired the castle, expanded and changed Tratzberg according to the spirit of the Renaissance age. Proof of those changes is the splendidly painted courtyard and exquisite Renaissance parlours. In 1590 Tratzberg came into the possession of the Fuggers, a well-known and wealthy family of merchants, who expanded the castle even further. Most of the now conserved inventory is from this time.
After several changes of owners there was a time when Tratzberg was uninhabited for 150 years. When Franz Count Enzenberg married Ottilie Countess Tannenberg in 1847, the rather neglected castle came into the possession of the Enzenberg family, and it has stayed their homestead since then. Thanks to the family’s dedication and efforts the 6800 sqm castle with its 5000 sqm shingle roof became a gem of a 16th century Tyrolean castle again. It is now one of the most important cultural monuments of the country and open to the public.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.