Branzoll Castle, Chiusa, Italy - SpottingHistory.com

Branzoll Castle was built around the year 1250 by the Lords of Sabiona. Between 1465 and 1671, it was the site of the Prince-Bishop's court judge. In 1671, it was destroyed in a fire. In 1895, reconstruction began. While the castle-keep still contains parts of the former fortress, the residential tract is completely new. The view from the church square of the buildings on both sides and the castle looming over it all is among the architecturally most breathtaking sights the city has to offer.

User Reviews

Alessandra Bazzani (35 days ago)
Characteristic of the area where the castles are very beautiful. Too bad it cannot be visited for now. Who knows in the future? The climb is beautiful and a bit tiring, but it is worthwhile to see the city of Chiusa from above

channel max (37 days ago)
Its original name is Burg Branzoll. Its construction dates back to the thirteenth century on behalf of the lords of Sabiona, who previously also controlled the fortress that was located on top of the cliff (now a monastery). It then passed to the Bishops of Bressanone who entrusted it to their own captain (hence the current name). It was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1671, only the large keep was saved. The rest of the current construction is the result of some reconstructions, made between 1895 and 1912, which gave it its current appearance. It can be reached in 10 minutes from the historic center of Klausen, with an ancient and suggestive staircase and is on the uphill path to the Abbey of Sabbiona Unfortunately it cannot be visited, it is privately owned.

Mariano Maistrello (38 days ago)
Spectacular! But ... closed !! We hope they open it on some occasion!

Dino (55 days ago)
Excellent visit

Johann Wagner (3 months ago)
The castle cannot be visited as it is privately owned. But it is still nice to look at from the outside.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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