Schloss Trauttmansdorff - Castel Trauttmansdorff

Schloss Trauttmansdorff - Castel Trauttmansdorff rises in Merano, surrounded by botanical gardens and views across the South Tyrolean landscape. Medieval walls, neo-Gothic additions and a neo-Rococo hall create its distinctive architectural profile.

A small fortress called Neuberg stood here around 1300, before the Trauttmansdorff family expanded it during the sixteenth century. Archduke John renovated the castle in 1846, adding neo-Gothic features that influenced later buildings across Tyrol. The crypt, southwestern walls and rooms with medieval frescoes preserve elements from its earliest history. Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sissi, stayed here with her daughters in 1870 and returned in 1889. Since 2003, the South Tyrolean Museum of Tourism, or Touriseum, has occupied the restored rooms. Exhibits, old books and displays trace tourism’s development in South Tyrol.

The gardens extend across about twelve hectares and bring plants from many parts of the world around the castle. Matteo Thun’s Binoculars offers a wide view of the building and surrounding countryside. The Sissi Path connects the gardens with central Merano in a walk of roughly forty-five minutes.