Hocheppan Castle

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Hocheppan Castle
Hocheppan Castle seen from the southwest

Hocheppan Castle seen from the southwest

Alternative name (s): Castel d'Appiano
Creation time : around 1125
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Preserved essential parts
Geographical location 46 ° 29 '33.9 "  N , 11 ° 14' 31.7"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 29 '33.9 "  N , 11 ° 14' 31.7"  E
Hocheppan Castle (South Tyrol)
Hocheppan Castle

The Castel d'Appiano is one of the most important fortifications in South Tyrol ( Italy ). It is located on the territory of the Missian fraction in the large municipality of Eppan in the Überetsch region near Bozen .

location

The castle complex lies above the steep rock face above Missian. It belongs to the type of hilltop castles .

history

In the opinion of most South Tyrolean castle researchers, the castle hill was already settled or fortified in the Rhaetian period. The latest archaeological finds confirmed this.

According to a theory, Hocheppan Castle was built around 1125 by Count Ulrich II from the Eppan family as a fortress . Other researchers consider a later date to be likely.

Engraving by Hocheppan 1828

The previous seat of the Counts of Eppan near the village of St. Pauls had become too insecure because of the conflict with the Counts of Tyrol . Exactly where it was is unknown, in any case the Altenburg is not to be regarded as the predecessor of Hocheppan.

After the Eppaners attacked a papal embassy in 1158, the castle was destroyed by a punitive expedition under Henry the Lion , but then rebuilt. 1315 it was handed over to the princes of Tyrol, the different families in the sequence so mortgaged . In 1834 Emperor Franz I gave the castle to Martin Teimer von Wildau as a fief. In 1911, Hocheppan became the property of the Counts of Enzenberg , who consolidated and partially restored the building stock. In 2016 the municipality of Eppan acquired the castle for a purchase price of around 3.5 million euros.

investment

Hocheppan Castle

The entrance to the castle, which has been extended over centuries, is protected in the north by a complex system of forecourts with gun towers from the late Middle Ages, most of which date from the 16th century. Outside the actual wall ring , an open roundabout that could be defended with firearms protects the facility. The high, pentagonal keep , which is rare in Tyrol, is dominant , the existence of which is endangered by a deep crack in the masonry.

Castle chapel

The frescoes in the castle chapel are among the best preserved frescoes in Tyrol. On the inside and outside walls, scenes from the life of Jesus and the apostles as well as other biblical scenes, such as the wise and the foolish virgins , are depicted.

Chalk tower

About ten minutes' walk before Hocheppan is the chalk tower, a separate Vorwerk from Hocheppan (location: ⊙ ). It consists of a very high, whitewashed tower from the 13th century, which has probably been preserved in its original height and is surrounded by a small circular wall. Its name comes from its earlier function as a signal tower with a chalk fire .

  • The entry page

  • In the courtyard

  • Free seat of the castle tavern

  • The castle chapel

  • Frescoes in the castle chapel

  • The chalk tower

Literary reception

In 1897 Johann Steck published his novel Hocheppan, his counts Trutz and Sturz . Conceived as a "historical narrative", Steck processed it in a late romantic manner, but in particular the armed conflicts between the Counts of Eppan and the Counts of Tyrol , which led to the decline of the Eppaners.

literature

  • Walter Landi, Helmut Stampfer and Thomas Steppan: Hocheppan: a count's castle with Romanesque chapel frescoes (= castles . 10). Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7954-2383-4
  • Johann Nothdurfter: Hocheppan castle chapel: observations on late antique origins and pre-castle buildings . In: Arx , 23, 2001, pp. 14-18
  • Waltraud Palme-Comploy: Hocheppan . In: Magdalena Hörmann-Weingartner (ed.), Tiroler Burgenbuch. Volume X: Überetsch and South Tyrolean Unterland . Athesia publishing house, Bozen 2011, ISBN 978-88-8266-780-1 , pp. 71–116.
  • Helmut Stampfer, Thomas Steppan: The castle chapel of Hocheppan . Athesia, Bozen 1998, ISBN 978-8-8701-4957-9

Web links

Commons : Burg Hocheppan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Municipality buys Hocheppan Castle. (No longer available online.) Südtirol Online , June 10, 2016, archived from the original on June 10, 2016 ; accessed on October 19, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Johann Steck: Hocheppan, his counts Trutz and Sturz. A historical narrative (Tales from Tyrol's History, Volume II). Bolzano: Alois Auer & Co., formerly J. Wohlgemuth, 1897.