Lebenberg Castle (South Tyrol)

Lebenberg Castle from the southwest

Marling Waalweg through the vineyard around Lebenberg Castle

The Lebenberg Castle ( Italian Castel Monteleone , formerly often lock Lowenberg called) stands above the village of Cermes in South Tyrol ( Italy ) on a moraine hill from the slopes of the Marling mountain. The castle-like building complex is one of the largest, fully furnished castles of South Tyrol and is supported by an atypical for this region Rococo - ornamental garden surrounded.

history

The castle was probably built in the second half of the 13th century by the lords of Marling ( Mering ) who, like the Brandis, were a branch of the lords of Lana . Rudolf and Wolfgang von Mering (Marling) are documented between 1236 and 1270 . In 1260 Rudolf's son called himself Rudolf von Meringa and Lebenberg . Cunz von Mering appears in 1274 . In 1286 his sons Ulrich, Lazarus and Konrad only call themselves von Lebenberg . The castle was owned by the Lebenbergers until 1426, who died that year - after Leonhard von Lebenberg had died in 1421, whose testament has been preserved - along with Petermann von Lebenberg male. In the same year, the estate came to Wolfhart (Wolfgang) Fuchs von Fuchsberg through the marriage of his heir daughter Dorothea von Lebenberg , whose line the Fuchs von Fuchsberg also owned the Jaufenburg in the Passeier Valley and, also in the 15th century, acquired Freudenstein Castle in Eppan . They made many structural changes and extensions to the complex, so that their buildings are now grouped around winding inner courtyards.

The Fuchs von Fuchsberg family died out in 1828, and the plant changed hands several times in the following years before it was bought in 1924 by the Dutchman Adrian van Rossem van Sinoutskerke. His family still lives in part of the castle today.

Castle Museum

The uninhabited part houses a castle museum, which is open from March to October. Its special attractions include a medieval weapon collection and a large wall fresco in the knight's hall , which shows the family tree of the Fuchs family with twelve generations and a total of 264 figures.

The interior rooms were furnished by the current lords of the castle according to old descriptions, plans and inventory registers. Their furnishings thus span a timeline from Gothic to Empire . The three-story castle chapel , consecrated to Saint Stephen , originally dates from the 14th century and thus from the Gothic period. In addition, Lebenberg Castle has a hall of mirrors furnished with Venetian mirrors in the Rococo style and the so-called Napoleonic hall with an Empire tiled stove.

literature

• Anton Edlinger: From the south of Germany: descriptions from Meran . 2nd Edition. FW Ellmenreich, Meran 1890, pp. 105-115.
• Joseph Friedrich Lentner : Chronica of the closed and the Vesten ze Lebenberg . Plant, Meran o. J. ( online )
• Hans Löhr: Schloss Lebenberg near Meran. Short description and extract from the tourist books . Self-published, Munich 1895.
• Oswald Trapp : Tiroler Burgenbuch. Volume 2: Burgrave Office . Publishing house Athesia, Bozen 1980, pp. 231-240.
• Coelestin Stampfer : Palaces and castles in Merano and surroundings . Wagner, Innsbruck 1894, pp. 74-79 ( online ).

Web links

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

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

Individual evidence

1. ^ Castel Lebenberg. lana.net, archived from the original on May 12, 2006 ; Retrieved June 25, 2008 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Celestine Stampfer: Palaces and castles in Merano and environs , pp. 75–77
3. ^ Hannes Obermair : Bozen Süd - Bolzano Nord. Written form and documentary tradition of the city of Bozen up to 1500 . tape 2 . City of Bozen, Bozen 2008, ISBN 978-88-901870-1-8 , p. 61-62, No. 961 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 38 ′ 16.5 ″  N , 11 ° 8 ′ 9.6 ″  E