Tratzberg Castle

Tratzberg was a medieval fortress that burned in 1490 and was rebuilt from 1500 by the Tänzl family, silver-mine owners from Schwaz, and then by the Ilsung and Fugger families - so what stands is a Renaissance residence built by merchants rather than a defensive castle, with an arcaded courtyard and interiors that survive largely unaltered because the house was never modernised or sacked. The Habsburgersaal carries a painted family tree of the Habsburgs commissioned around 1508, with a hundred and forty-eight figures on branches spreading round the walls from Rudolf I - a piece of dynastic propaganda in paint. The Königinzimmer has intarsia panelling, and the armoury and the Gothic kitchen survive. The castle is privately owned and shown with an audio guide that has a children's version.

History

Chronicles name a castle called Trazperch here in 1296, and after it burned in 1490-1491 Emperor Maximilian I gave the ruin in 1499 to the brothers Veit-Jakob and Simon Tänzl, commoners grown rich as part owners of the Schwaz silver mine and ennobled in 1502, in exchange for Berneck Castle in the Kaunertal. From 1500 they built within eight years a three-storey palace on four wings around a courtyard, with portals, arcades and fireplaces of Hagau marble, their heirs sold it in 1553 to the Augsburg knight Georg von Ilsung, who finished the north wing and the painted courtyard facades, and through his daughter Anna's marriage to Jakob III Fugger the Fugger family inherited it in 1589 (Wikipedia, Tratzberg Castle).

What you'll find

• The Habsburg family tree - 148 painted figures around the walls, about 1508.
• A merchants' Renaissance castle - built by silver-mine families, not nobles.
• Intarsia panelling - the inlaid woodwork of the queen's room.
• Unaltered interiors - never modernised, so the sixteenth century survives.

When to go

April to October; closed over winter. Half a day.

Good to know

Closed for the winter. Access is by audio-guided route only. The walk up from the car park is fifteen minutes; the shuttle costs extra. Photography inside is restricted.

Nearby

Schwaz silver mine is close; the Achensee and Karwendel are north.

Key facts