Castle of Presule

The Castle of Presule (German: "Schloss Prösels"; Italian: "Castello di Presule") is a castle in the Gothic style which stands on the high plain below Sciliar, in the heart of the South Tyrolese Dolomites. Presule is a location within the municipal boundaries of the commune of Völs am Schlern (Fiè allo Sciliar).__NOTOC__The site where is the castle was named in a first document of 1279, as "castrum praesile" and it is believed that the lords of Völs/Fiè, feudatories of the Bishopric of Brixen, had built the castle here by 1200.

The year 1517, inscribed over the external portal, records the building work which took place during the latter years of the reign of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. This is the period when the castle achieved its greatest splendour under its best known lord: Count Leonhard von Völs (Leonardo I di Fiè; 1458–1530).

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. How and why they did this is unclear, although a number of hypotheses have been advanced. According to some the family originated as a branch of the Colonnas who came to Tyrol in the twelfth century; others believe that Leonhard II, fighting alongside Marcantonio Colonna (1535-1584) at the Battle of Lepanto, was affirming his family’s origins in the Colonnas of Tusculum. A third version speculates that Marcantonio adopted Leonhard in order to enable the latter to display his membership of the noble Roman dynasty. Most probably, perhaps, Leonhard II simply requested and obtained the right to add the name Colonna to his own. [See Caminiti Marcello, "Castelli dell'Alto Adige", Manfrini Editori, 1988.]

The castle remained in the hands of the family until its last member, Felix, Freiherr von Völs, died childless in 1804. Between then and 1978 the castle changed hands on no fewer than 14 occasions, surviving periods of decay and periods of restoration before finally being left to its own devices. In 1981 the Kuratorium Schloss Prösels S.r.l. was formed to restore the building; work was completed the following year.

Visiting the castle

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:
* A collection of weapons and suits of armour
* The "Batzenhäusl" restaurant collection of paintings
* A modern art collection

Footnotes

ources

:"Early versions of this article were based on a translation of its counterpart in the "Italian Wikipedia" (specifically [http://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Castello_di_Presule&oldid=11671328 this version] ), augmented by material from the "German Wikipedia" article ( [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schloss_Prösels&oldid=37055206 this version] )".

External links

* [http://www.schloss-proesels.it/ Official Website] en de icon it
** More extended information on the history of the castle can be downloaded from this site as pdf documents in [http://www.schloss-proesels.it/pdf/historyger.pdf German] and [http://www.schloss-proesels.it/pdf/storiaital.pdf Italian] .

ee also

*Late Middle Ages
*Fortification
*Medieval architecture

Gallery