Pietra Castle, Calliano, Italy - SpottingHistory.com

Pietra Castle is built on a huge boulder detached from Cengio Rosso. It is located in a strategic location which marked the long border between the Italian Tyrolean territories, Bishopric of Trent and Republic of Venice. When the Venetians tried to go to the north, between the15th and 16th century , they were stopped by the Principality and the Austrians with important pitched battles that took place near the castle.

Its rooms are decorated in a Gothic style. Worth of mentioning is the 'Hall of Justice', strictly gothic atmosphere illuminated by windows with a particular form in Guelph and adorned with frescoes from the 15th century.

The castle is restored and today privately owned and inhabited.

References:

Trentino Cultura

User Reviews

T. B. (2 years ago)
Nice

Joyce M (3 years ago)
Beautiful place in the middle of the nature and well taken care of beautiful inside and out . Great for events

Jeanette Hack Palmdahl (3 years ago)
Very nice and humble owner, and very good wine. Thank you.

Enzo C (3 years ago)
Bellissimo castello storico. Prima difesa della città di Trento e del Tirolo storico. Si trova in una posizione strategica infatti quando i veneziani tentavano di spingersi a nord verso Trento, vennero fermati dal Principato e dagli Austriaci con importanti battaglie che si svolsero nei pressi del castello. La più importante è la battaglia di Calliano del 10 agosto 1487 battaglia combattuta tra le truppe trentine, alleate dei conti del Tirolo, e quelle della Repubblica di Venezia

SoLaMao (4 years ago)
The historical contest is so impressive and well mantained. The food is also very good, prices are mid expensive. Employees are not so kind and owners are very unfriendly. What a pity for such a good place!

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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