Ortenstein castle ruins

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The powder tower: keep of the Ortenstein castle ruins
The powder tower rises above the city of Merano

The castle ruins Ortenstein ( Italian Rovina Ortenstein ) is located on the southern slope of the Küchelberg above the spa town of Merano in South Tyrol ( Italy ) and consists only of the day keep the castle, the Powder Tower .

The tower has a height of 12 meters, inside there is a steel structure with stairs. There is very little information about the castle itself, as it was destroyed at an early stage.

history

Ortenstein Castle was built in the 13th century by the Counts of Tyrol , but was destroyed very early by military action, so that only the keep still exists today. The keep was used as an explosive powder store in the 17th and 18th centuries, hence its current name Powder Tower .

Connection to the spa town

Ortenstein Castle was part of the city wall of Merano in conjunction with the nearby Passeirer Tor. After the castle was destroyed, the keep also served as a place of refuge for the people of Merano during wars. Today it marks the eastern end of the Tappeinerpromenade .

literature

  • Oswald Trapp : Tiroler Burgenbuch. Volume II: Burgrave Office . Athesia publishing house, Bozen 1980, pp. 112–116.

Web links and sources

Commons : Ortenstein castle ruin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 40 ′ 18.1 ″  N , 11 ° 10 ′ 3.7 ″  E