Trauttmansdorff Castle

The castle's origins date back to 1300, when a small castle named Neuberg was built on this site. In 1543, the noble Trauttmansdorff family acquired the property, and Franz, the buyer's son, had it extensively expanded. However, after the extinction of this line, the castle fell into disrepair, and in 1777, a tower even collapsed, destroying the castle chapel. It was not until 1846 that Joseph von Trauttmansdorff, a count from Styria, purchased the ruined castle and had it rebuilt and expanded in the Neo-Gothic style. The building, now known as Trauttmansdorff Castle, became a model for other Neo-Gothic castles in the region. Later, Imperial Knight Moritz von Leon inherited the castle. In 1870, Empress Elisabeth of Austria chose the castle for a spa stay, which made Merano widely known as a spa town. After Moritz von Leon's financial difficulties, the castle changed hands and was acquired by Friedrich von Deuster, who further expanded it and laid out gardens. World War I ended this flourishing period. After the war, the owner was dispossessed, and the castle, henceforth called Castel di Nova, fell to the Opera Nazionale per i Combattenti. During World War II, the Wehrmacht used the facility. After the war, the castle stood empty for a long time until it passed to the South Tyrolean provincial administration in 1977. Since 1990, it has housed the Touriseum and is surrounded by the Botanical Gardens, which opened in 2001.

Trauttmansdorff Castle is situated at approximately 380 meters above sea level on the eastern outskirts of Merano, in the Bolzano district, in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy.

Visitors can today tour the castle and explore the Touriseum housed within. The surrounding Botanical Gardens, spanning over twelve hectares, offer an extensive network of paths and are divided into various thematic areas, including forest gardens, sun gardens, and water and terrace gardens. A special attraction is the protected Australian Wollemia.

• Castel del Gatto (Castle), approx. 11.9 km away
• Castel Fahlburg (Castle), approx. 11.9 km away
• Castel Sant'Erasmo (Castle), approx. 12.4 km away
• Castel Zwingenberg (Castle), approx. 12.5 km away