Gernstein Castle

View from the Tinnetal

Castle Gernstein (also Gerstein or Garnstein ; Italian Castello di Gernstein or Castel Tina ) is a neo-Romanesque castle between Villanders and Latzfons near Klausen in South Tyrol .

history

The castle is located in the Tinnetal above the Tinnebach and dates back to the 12th century. It had the task of guarding the ancient path from Brixen over the mountains to the south and was first mentioned in 1215 in connection with the "Garre" family as "Garrenstein". Since Klausen and the area around Villandro were important due to the ore wealth and mining, the fortification was also strategically important. After the Garrensteiners died out, the castle passed to the Lords of Voitsberg, who received the castle as a fief of the Brixen prince-bishops. In 1356 the Voitsbergers (now: Garnsteiner) rebelled against the diocese of Brixen and lost the castle, probably after a siege by Prince-Bishop Matthäus an der Gassen . In 1373 Bishop Johann Ribi von Lenzburg enfeoffed his nephew Johann V. Segesser with all the goods of the deposed Hans von Garrenstein, i.e. with the castle and rule of Garrenstein and with the court of Latzfons. The fortress burned down shortly before 1389. In 1389 the castle was given as a pledge (no longer as a fief ) to the lords of Villanders .

In 1550 the Heydorf counts received it again as a fief of the Brixen prince-bishop, Cristoforo Madruzzo , but the castle fell into ruin from the 16th century.

From 1607 to 1797 Garnstein was awarded to Ludwig Lindner, the chamber master of the Brixen monastery, and his descendants, who carried the title “von Gerrenstein”. In 1777, Franz Joseph Anton Bernwerth von Gernstein acted as court clerk for the Altenburg estate in Eppan .

Postcard from Gernstein Castle near Klausen, ca.1907

In 1880 the ruins were bought by the Prussian Lieutenant General Friedrich von Gerstein-Hohenstein (1814-1891) and rebuilt in the historicist style of neo-Romanesque . The reason for the purchase was that Lieutenant General Gerstein-Hohenstein wanted to purchase a castle that had always been named after his family. Beyond that, there is no historical relationship between the castle and the Prussian aristocratic family. Since then, the term "Gernstein" has prevailed.

In 1919 Gernstein was confiscated as "German property" by the Italian occupying forces.

The castle has been privately owned since 1970 and cannot be visited.

Due to the wild and romantic location and the picturesque beauty of the historicist reconstruction, Gernstein Castle is a popular photo opportunity.

literature

• Oswald Trapp : Garnstein . In: Oswald Trapp (ed.), Tiroler Burgenbuch. IV. Volume: Eisacktal . Publishing house Athesia, Bozen 1977, pp. 174-182.

Web links

Commons : Schloss Gernstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office

Individual evidence

1. ^ Oswald Trapp : Tiroler Burgenbuch: Eisacktal , Volume 4, p. 174
2. ↑ The first documentary mention ( memento from January 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
3. ^ Trapp, Burgenbuch: Eisacktal , p. 175
4. ↑ Genealogical Handbook on Swiss History , Volume III, p. 198
5. ↑ Heraldisch-Genealogische Gesellschaft Adler, New Yearbook 1891, p. 73
6. ^ Trapp, Burgenbuch: Eisacktal , p. 178
7. ^ Hannes Obermair : Nonsberger Regesten. The Unterweg-Perger archive in Proveis (1274–1777) . (PDF) In: Der Schlern . 66, No. 9, 1992, pp. 587-600, reference: p. 598, no. 36.
8. ^ Trapp, Burgenbuch: Eisacktal , p. 179.

Coordinates: 46 ° 39 ′ 52 ″  N , 11 ° 32 ′ 27.6 ″  E