Italiano
DeutschCastle Freundenstein
Castle Freundenstein: the castle is situated on a flat hill above Eppan
History: the castle is first mentioned in connection with the St Andreas Church in 1379. The church itself was mentioned much earlier, in 1299, as St Andreas de Dosso. The family Fuchs von Fuchsberg was known to have lived in the castle around 1244 together with another aristocratic family, Eysenbrand von Freundenstein, who actually lived in the castle next door. Later, both castles belonged to the Fuchs von Fuchsberg family. Knight Jakob Fuchs von Fuchsberg took over the castles and made them into one beautiful castle with its own chapel (the St Anna Chapel) and had the inscription “in gotes gewalt ste ich, iacob fux ritter pawt mich, frydenstein heiss ich, anno domini 1519” engraved over the entrance. Jakob Fuchs died in 1550, and as he was the last in the line, the castle was seldom lived in over the next centuries. Further owners of the castle were the Trentino aristocrats de Bellinini, from 1897 Heinrich Baron von Siebold (who renovated the castle), a Hungarian captain (1919-1964) as well German owners. Architectural style: a square wall surrounds the Middle Aged building. The south wing is partially Gothic. Peculiarities: late Gothic flat carvings in the chapel, wall murals in the west living wing, red chalk and charcoal inscriptions in the great hall (earlier the drinking hall) as well as wooden panelling in the north wing are just some of the things you can discover in Schloss Freundenstein. Music fans: concerts are always being arranged in the rooms of the castle. The castle is easily reached by car. There are also many possibilities to walk past the building and you can choose between hikes of 5-8 hours during depending on your condition. Our first suggestion is from St Michael to Matschatsch and then back along the high path. A bit more strenuous is the climb up to the Furglaus Gorge or the Penegal. But even the area of Eppan/Berg is worth walking through, as it is particularly quiet
