Once upon a time at Hocheppan...

Hocheppan Castle sits majestically on a rocky spur above Eppan on the Wine Road and is one of the most important fortified castles in South Tyrol.

Built around 1130 by the Counts of Eppan, the complex impresses with mighty curtain walls, a striking keep and the well-preserved palace. The Romanesque castle chapel, whose interior walls are decorated with extraordinary frescoes, is particularly worth seeing. These date back to the 13th century and show both biblical scenes and rare secular depictions - including the famous “dumpling eater”, a humorous testimony to everyday medieval culture.

After years of decay, the castle was restored and is now a popular excursion destination with refreshments and a unique view of the Adige Valley. It combines history, art and nature to create an impressive experience.

Martin Luther's return journey from his mission to Rome in 1511 marks an important, albeit little researched, period in the life of the later reformer. While his stay in the Eternal City is extensively documented, little is known about Luther's stopover at Hocheppan Castle. The arduous return journey from Rome deliberately takes Luther and his confrere Johann von Mecheln in the direction of Brenner, as their destination is Hocheppan Castle. Their first stop was St. Pauls, where they were warmly welcomed by Pastor Ludwig Fergenhans. They ask him to help them view the unique medieval frescoes in the castle chapel.

After lunch together, accompanied by “white Lagrein”, a carriage takes them from St. Pauls via Missian and past Korb Castle and Boymont to Unterhausenhof. The monks have to make the remaining ascent on foot.

At Hocheppan, Luther and his fellow monk awaited board and lodging. Tradition describes a friendly welcome from the lord of the castle, Fuchs von Fuchsberg - a man with a reform-minded attitude who had a lively conversation with the two monks.

The food must also have tasted excellent, as Luther's famous sentence from that evening at Hocheppan has been passed down: "Why don't you burp and fart, Brother Johann, didn't you enjoy it? That shames me in front of the innkeeper." Martin Luther is deeply impressed by the 300-year-old frescoes, and of course he doesn't miss the famous “dumpling eater”. Speaking of dumplings: we have him to thank for the fact that the term, which was still foreign to Luther, soon became known throughout the German-speaking world.

Rainer Kainrath was born in Braunschweig in 1938 (while traveling through). His father was a doctor and journalist and came from Bad Ischl, his mother from Stettin. Kainrath grew up in Innsbruck and moved to South Tyrol in 1960. Here, the trained architect was a long-standing member of the South Tyrolean Artists' Association.

Rainer Kainrath inherited his talent from his father Ernst, “a genius”, as he says looking back. His younger brother Dietmar was also a gifted draughtsman and caricaturist. At the start of the new millennium, he received the commission of a lifetime: Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz hired him for the magazine “The Red Bulletin”, where Kainrath developed his interpretation of the drinks can into a cult.

Kainrath does not know how many drawings he has made in his life to date. “It's not that important,” he says, “but it's a lot, because I've drawn all sorts of things, without any thematic focus.” Although he has attended painting and drawing courses, he still describes himself as self-taught. As someone who has always been driven by curiosity in life and who has never tired of capturing what he has experienced and felt on a sheet of white paper.