Why is South Tyrol a land of castles?
Where history lives on every hill
South Tyrol is a land of castles – around 800 castles, palaces, and manor houses shape the landscape. It is almost impossible to travel through a valley without encountering walls, towers, or entire fortress complexes.
The reason lies in history: South Tyrol has always been a land of passage. Whoever controlled the Brenner Pass held power over the main trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe. To secure these routes, princes and bishops built castles and fortifications from the High Middle Ages onwards.
A particularly impressive example is Tirol Castle, the ancestral seat of the Counts of Tyrol, from which the region takes its name. In Bolzano, Runkelstein Castle towers over the city, famous for its unique frescoes that offer a glimpse into everyday life in the Middle Ages. And in the valleys around Merano, you can find small, picturesque manor houses that were once homes for peasants and nobility alike.
It is fascinating that many of South Tyrol’s castles have been preserved in their original form. While elsewhere medieval castles were replaced by Baroque palaces, here much has remained unchanged. Today, anyone wandering through the region experiences an authentic journey back to the Middle Ages.
Thus, South Tyrol is not only a land of castles but also a land of stories – every wall, every tower tells tales of power, trade, battles, and sometimes even love and betrayal.
