Maretsch Castle sits on the outskirts of Bolzano and was a pleasant walk for us from our stay inside town. The higher peaks of the Dolomites loomed in the distance, ancient villas dotted the walk, and a field of grapes were sitting ripe for the picking.
The oldest part of the castle was built in the 13th century, but received a makeover during the Renaissance in the 1560’s. It was built to be a residence and not a fortress. It’s used currently as an event center.
Frescoes were added as part of the makeover.
I could only imagine what this must have looked like when the paint and plaster was fresh.
We wandered through rooms upon rooms bereft of furniture, up narrow and well-used staircases, and came upon a postcard exhibition. Not only that, but the exhibition told of how the area near the castle was once a resort town named Gries. The sun, the climate and the lush green hills made it a prime health and holiday resort in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
The practice of sending postcards began in 1865, and of course everyone coming to the resort had to have postcards to send home. The collection of about 2,000 cards belonged to one person. The picture below is an enlargement of one of the postcards, and showed how Gries looked back in the day.
Unfortunately, the resort area of Gries was bombed badly in 1944. Reconstruction folded it into the town of Bolzano.
Back in our AirBnb, we looked out our window and saw Runkelstein Castle, although at first we didn’t know it was Runkelstein. Could we visit that castle, and how could we get there?
The answer was yes: we could visit, and all we needed to do was to get on a bus from Piazza Walther. We stopped at a bakery for some lunch provisions before we set out.
This castle is a medieval fortification originally built in 1237. It entered its golden years when two brothers, Nicklaus and Franz Vintler, purchased it in 1385. Sons of wine merchants, they wanted to validate their rise to aristocracy by giving it a fabulous makeover. In those days, as at Maretsch, the way to do that was by adding frescoes. This castle has one of the largest secular collections from medieval times. Also important: the addition of a privy and a cistern to store water.
There are frescoes everywhere, and new corners to explore at every turn.
This fresco depicts a jousting tournament. What’s interesting here is not only the tournament but also what is happening on the right side.
There are women looking on from above, and a priest stands below. Perhaps the priest was needed in case of a mortal blow? In the far right corner, not allowed inside the the walls but watching from wherever they could, are Jews discernable by their pointed hats.
Another fresco shows the height of medieval fashion. A lady may own only one dress, but have several interchangeable sleeves for the dress. For the men, the longer the point on the shoe, the more important was the wearer.
Making a fresco takes a lot of time and experience. A picture must be drafted. Then the wall is prepared by making it smooth and even, and a top layer of plaster is applied. Finally the painting can begin. Frescoes have an advantage over other types of painting because they are very durable. It took five years to freshen up Castle Runkelstein’s frescoes in the late 1990’s.
There is also one of the earliest known depictions of King Arthur and his knights seated at the Round Table.
Cal was not immersed in every detail of the frescoes as I was, and when I emerged from inside the castle, I found he had snagged the greatest spot for us to have lunch.
I had watched our route to Castle Runkelstein when we had been on the bus. There were walking paths, and the distance of about two miles back to town looked very doable. Cal opted for the bus, and I set out for what was to be one of my favorite walks of the trip.
I could see the old watchtower close up. Cypress trees dotted the grape vines growing precariously on the hillsides.
Does this villa date back to the Gries resort days?
And then, one of the best views. It looked to me like an old landscape oil painting with the Dolomites hazily in the background. I took pictures, walked, took more pictures.
Still to be written is our most memorable Bolzano day. Like all great days, it was full of surprises.
Next time – a mountaintop experience high above Bolzano
Twosna Travels 
I love this post! The frescos are so interesting and beautiful! I am glad you noted the details like the Jewish people being on the outside, the pointed shoes, and the sleeves. Knowing the meaning of these things make the fresco even more interesting. The scenery also looks just amazing. Your post reminds me a bit of Dan and I – you being astute and noticing that you could walk back – and being more enamored with the frescoes. I often take pictures (for the blog) and Dan waits – sometimes more patiently than other times. I would have enjoyed that walk back to the village, too. Although, Cal does get big points for that lunch spot! I remember that you collect postcards, so I bet you were fascinated with the postcard collection. Sometime you should do a post about your postcard hobby – I don’t remember all the details of what you collect and why (we talked about so much!), but I do find it really interesting! Looking forward to your next post, as always!
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Betty, I so appreciate your thoughtful comments. ❤️ Those frescoes were very fascinating to me. When Cal gets tired of me taking too long looking at things or taking pictures he goes on and sometimes I totally lose him. In this case, seeing him holding down the only picnic table was awesome, because I had been wondering where we were going to eat lunch! I was going to go into more detail about the postcard display but decided the blog was about the two castles. I was elated to see it, though, and to look at all the cards and stories about Gries. Funny you should mention my doing a blog about my hobby- that’s due to be posted soon and I’ve already written it!
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