Fischburg Castle, Santa Cristina Valgardena, Italy

Fischburg Castle (Castel Gardena), surrounded by numerous fish ponds that were name-giving for the castle. It was constructed between 1622 and 1641 by Engelhard Dietrich von Wolkenstein-Trostburg as summer residence and hunting castle, even if the monumental construction conveys medieval grandeur. Actually, the inventory of the castle reveals that the castle contains more hunting weapons than weapons of war. Moreover appliances for fishing were found - not far to seek, as there are the nearby fishing ponds.

At the end of the 18th century, the castle started deteriorating, in 1826 parts of the inventory were sold by public sale. In the mid 19th century, Leopold Graf von Wolkenstein-Trostburg gave the castle to the municipality of S. Cristina. In those days, a retirement home or poorhouse was meant to be established in the castle. However, in 1926, it was sold to the baron Carlo Franchetti from Venice, who had the castle restored inside and outside and furnished it with chattels of South Tyrol and the Val Gardena valley. Still today the castle is owned by the Venetian family.

References:

valgardena-groeden.com

Castles and fortifications in Italy

User Reviews

Maurizio Lettieri (15 months ago)
Nice castle on the mountain between Santa Cristina and Selva Valgardena. Too bad it cannot be visited, it conveys ancient history

Dima Yerinov (21 months ago)
The castle is eye catching :)

Johnny Kidd (2 years ago)
Fearless vampire killers!!

Silvia Esposto (3 years ago)
è situato lungo la riva sinistra di Rio Gardena, tra Selva Gardena e S. Cristina, circondato da numerosi laghetti ricchi di pesci, infatti il nome tedesco del castello è “Fischburg” che significa “Castello della pesca”. Il castello è stato costruito tra il 1622 ed il 1641 per volontà di Engelhard Dietrich von Wolkenstein-Trostburg come residenza estiva e di caccia, anche se questo monumentale edificio è di memorabile bellezza. Dall’inventario del castello è emerso che fossero presenti più armi da caccia che da guerra. Oltre alle armi sono stati ritrovati numerosi attrezzi da pesca. A fine del XVIII secolo il castello iniziò a deteriorarsi e parte dell’inventario venne messo all’asta. A metà del XIX secolo, Conte Leopold von Wolkenstein-Trostburg donò Castel Gardena al comune di Santa Cristina che pensò di adibire il castello a ricovero per gli anziani o per i poveri. Nel 1926 il castello venne venduto a Barone Carlo Franchetti di Venezia il quale lo ristrutturò, sia internamente che esteriormente, e lo arredò con mobili provenienti dalla Val Gardena e dall’Alto Adige. Ancora oggi il castello è di proprietà della famiglia veneziana e non può essere visitato.

Braden Anderson (3 years ago)
Had an amazing stay in the guesthouse which was available on Airbnb to rent - highly recommended!

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