Castelforte ruins – Appiano

Description

The ruins of Castelforte (Festenstein) can be found on a steep porphyry rock on the Gaido gorge, about 450m above sea level in val d’Adige, west of Andriano, in the municipality of Appiano sulla Strada del Vino (Bolzano).
The exact date of the castle’s construction is unknown, as is the identity of its earliest owners. It was documented for the first time around 1220, destroyed by a fire in 1503 and later rebuilt. In the mid 17^th century, it passed to a certain Franz Lanser.
In around 1910 a German accountant purchased the ruin and had it restored. A one-storey tower was built on the rock spur. The rock face provided the back wall for the noble residence which features an internal courtyard and a building with arrow slits. In the Middle Ages, an unusual construction with a drawbridge (of which nothing remains today) gave access to the first square gate. From the first entrance (today the first gate is closed) a narrow passage leads uphill along the protective walls on the rock. The narrow inner courtyard is reached after two more gates.

Position on map