Prösels Castle, Presule, Italy

Prösels Castle (Castello di Presule) was first named in a document from 1279 and it is believed that the lords of Völs, feudatories of the Bishopric of Brixen, had built the castle here by 1200. Today the central palace with a Romanesque archway are surviving parts of this first fortress.

In Italian it is sometimes called Castel Colonna, reflecting the fact that around the time of Leonhard II the Völs (Fiè) family started to add the Colonna family name to their own.

The Gothic castle of today was built by Leonhard of Völs (born 1458). He was the administrator of the salt mines of Hall in Tirol, a highly profitable position, furthermore he was married three times to wealthy noblewomen, which enabled him to spend extravagantly on the expansion of his castle. In 1498 Leonhard, thanks to his friendship with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Archduke of Austria, became governor of the County of Tyrol. Leonhard showed his gratitude by including the emperor on one of the frescoes in the newly built arcade of his castle.

During the Peasants' War of 1525 the castle was briefly occupied by the revolting subservient farmers, who burnt all the documents in the vain hope of destroying all proof of their debts and tithes. The uprising was squashed and six leaders executed. Leonhard of Völs also instigated the burning of nine local woman for witchcraft.

The castle remained in the hands of the family until its last member, Felix, Freiherr von Völs, died childless in 1810. For the next 50 years the castle stood empty and nearly fell into ruins. Between 1860 and 1978 the castle changed hands no fewer than 14 times, suffering periods of decay followed by attempted restoration before finally being abandoned to its fate. However, in 1981 the Kuratorium Schloss Prösels (Prösels Castle Curatorship) was formed to restore the building; the work was completed the following year.

Guided visits are available during the summer months and during the Christmas holidays, various cultural events are held here including concerts, exhibitions and theatrical performances. Permanent displays include for example a collection of weapons and suits of armour.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Dawn Umstot (6 months ago)
We knew the tour was required and it was only in German and Italian but we hoped the English audio would be sufficient. Though the castle was interesting and the views from its deck stunning, the tour was not that good for english speakers. Our audio was only in certain rooms and obviously much less information than what the other tour participants received. Yet, we were required to stay with the group so a bit boring at times as the guide went on and on in Italian and then German while we waited. Most interesting was a small room where they mentioned witch trials and the dungeon area that we stepped over, but not much detail. Outside we stumbled on a memorial to those killed as witches so it seemed more significant than the tour indicated. The armory was also cool but we didn't stay long and the most significant item noted in the audio tour was not pointed out for english speakers. PS - road up to castle is narrow and no fun.

Elodie Bouchard (7 months ago)
This is a lovely castle to visit in the region. It is very well preserved and has lovely vineyards all around. You can book your guided tour online. For us they booked up fast. The tour is only in German or Italian but you can get an audio guide for English and French.

Drew Carmichael (11 months ago)
Hourly tours starting at 11am. Only in Italian and German but they have an audio tour for English and French.

Jorge Acevedo (2 years ago)
I give 3 stars but really didn't walk in or took any tours. The small café was a nice place, staff was friendly, and bathrooms clean. We got there around 11:30 and the next tour was at 14:00.

A T (2 years ago)
Nice place. The tour is guided, for English you have portable audio guide, which doesn't cover everything

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