Prösels Castle

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Prösels Castle

The Prösels Castle is located near Völs , east of Bozen , in South Tyrol . It is the ancestral castle of the Lords of Völs, first mentioned in 1279 as "castrum Presil" , but probably built around 1200. The castle experienced its heyday at the beginning of the 16th century when Leonhard the Elder of Völs had it expanded into a splendid, late Gothic palace complex. After the Lords of Völs died out and several changes of ownership, the castle was acquired by the Kuratorium Schloss Prösels GmbH in 1978. Today, in addition to traditional castle tours, numerous cultural events take place on the castle grounds, such as B. Concerts, exhibitions and theater performances.

Geographical location

Prösels Castle with Völs in the background

On the way from Blumau to Völs am Schlern there is a prominent rock head on the right-hand side, on which the old Prösels Castle rises. It is located in the district of Prösels, which belongs to the municipality of Völs am Schlern and lies between the two larger municipal fractions of Völs and Völser Aicha.

history

Historical beginnings

The medieval castle ( "castrum Presil" ) is mentioned for the first time in a document from 1279, while the castle settlement is attested in 1373 as " Bresels ". The castle was built by the Lords of Völs, who initially served the Bishops of Brixen . At first the castle was named after the chapel there, but later referred to as Burg Prösels or Burg Völs, as it was not far from the main village of Völs. After the sphere of influence of the bishops of Bressanone and Trento was restricted, the Lords of Völs received the castle as sovereign ministerials .

Leonhard the Elder of Völs

Leonhard the Elder of Völs was the most important lord of the castle. At a young age he took part in the war against Venice (1508–1516) and from 1498 until his death in 1530 he held the office of governor on the Adige and burgrave of Tyrol . Leonhard worked primarily as an estate manager and was close friends with the Habsburg emperor Maximillian I. His life was not only characterized by his administrative tasks, but also reached a climax in the Völs witch trials of 1506 and 1510 and the peasant uprising of 1525. Leonhard's greatest legacy is certainly the castle itself, most of which he had built and which has been preserved almost entirely to this day.

Völser witch trials

Plaque

500 years ago, witch trials took place at Prösels Castle, which ended in death by burning for around 30 people . Not only were women accused of witchcraft, the trials also cost two men their lives. The guilty party was accused of submitting to the devil. The indictments accused the defendants of murdering their own children and of riding brooms in the air and participating in devil dances. However, to this day it has not been possible to clarify where the witch burnings took place.

To commemorate the first witch trial in the southern part of Tyrol, the municipalities of Völs and Kastelruth installed a sculpture with a memorial plaque on Prösels Castle in 2006. On August 18, 2006, the historical drama Anna Jobstin was premiered in the castle courtyard of Prösels Castle. Anna Jobstin was the first defendant in the witch hunt of 1506.

Prösels Castle Board of Trustees

Prösels Castle in winter

In 1978 the newly formed Kuratorium Schloss Prösels acquired the castle. This consortium of private individuals and the municipalities of the Schlern area ( Castelrotto , Völs) and the municipality of Tiers is the castle owner to this day. After the restoration of the facility was completed, it has been used as a venue for various cultural events and guided tours since 1982.

On July 5, 2014, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann met for a conference at Prösels Castle, which was the first time an Italian and Austrian heads of government met on South Tyrolean soil.

Worth seeing

chapel

The chapel at Prösels Castle, which is dedicated to St. Anna , was also built by Leonhard . The shape of the portal and the ribbed vault clearly show that the chapel dates from the 3rd decade of the 16th century. What is particularly noteworthy about the building is without a doubt the outstanding craftsmanship of the structural details.

Weapon collection

After the restoration of the castle, Franz Anton von Kofler's collection of weapons came to the castle on loan from the South Tyrolean provincial government . Most of the objects on display date from the 19th century and come from the battlefields in Solferino and Custoza (Italian Wars of Independence) , among others . But pieces from Leonhard's time can also be found in the weapons hall. The armor of a samurai fighter from the Far East is particularly curious .

Exhibition gallery

In the so-called “carpenter's house” at Prösels Castle, art exhibitions by various painters and sculptors have taken place in the summer months since 1982 . Every artist who has been a guest at the castle since then has left a work from his exhibition. Thus, over the years, an extensive collection of pictures and sculptures has been created, which can be viewed as part of the palace tours. Works of art by the famous artist Lotte Copì can also be found in the castle. In addition, the 98 remaining works of the famous Batzenhäusl collection from Bolzano are on display in the former residential wing of the Lords of Völs .

Powder tower

A little above Prösels Castle is the Powder Tower , historically closely linked to the complex , a keep-like defense tower ( ⊙ ).

Cultural performances

In summer there are daily guided tours in the castle. There are also cultural events with music, art and theater. The castle can be used for private events such as B. weddings or other celebrations can be rented for one day.

literature

  • Elmar Perkmann: Prösels Castle is alive! Leonhard von Völs, his castle and his time. Weger, Brixen 2013, ISBN 978-88-6563-084-6 .
  • Helmut Stampfer : Prösels Castle: Bulwark from the time of Maximilian I (=  castles . Band 8 ). Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7954-2333-9 .
  • Helmut Stampfer: Prösels Castle around 1600 . In: Der Schlern , vol. 92, 2018, pp. 117–129.
  • Hanns-Paul Ties: The barons of Völs and antiquity. Image programs of the Renaissance in the castles of Prösels and Haselburg (South Tyrol). In: Stefanie Lieb (ed.): Castles in the Alps. Research on castles and palaces, Vol. 14, Petersberg 2012, pp. 171–184
  • Oswald Trapp : Prösels . In: Oswald Trapp (Ed.): Tiroler Burgenbuch. IV. Volume: Eisacktal . Athesia publishing house, Bozen 1977, pp. 361-407.
  • Oswald Trapp: Prösel's »Powder Tower« . In: Oswald Trapp (Ed.): Tiroler Burgenbuch. IV. Volume: Eisacktal . Verlagsanstalt Athesia, Bozen 1977, pp. 407-411.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Helmut Stampfer : Prösels Castle, Völs am Schlern . 3. Edition. Völs am Schlern 1998.
  2. ^ Prösels Castle. The castle that Oswald von Wolkenstein once owned. In: holiday portal seiser-alm.it. Retrieved May 28, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Graziadei Helga: The most beautiful castles and palaces in South Tyrol . d. Südwest-Verlag, Lana 1998.
  4. ^ Hannes Obermair : Bozen Süd - Bolzano Nord. Written form and documentary tradition of the city of Bozen up to 1500 . tape 1 . City of Bozen, Bozen 2005, ISBN 88-901870-0-X , p. 382, no.796 .
  5. ↑ Elmar Perkmann: The Völser witch trials 1506 and 1510 . Background, research, conclusions. Völs am Schlern municipality, 2006.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Kuratorium Schloss Prösels, information brochure "Schloss / Castel Prösels".
  7. ^ Prösels Castle. In: Ferienportal suedtirol-it.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Gerhard Mumelter: "The end of the nation states is near". Der Standard , July 5, 2014, accessed November 24, 2019 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 30 ′ 19.6 ″  N , 11 ° 29 ′ 44.5 ″  E