Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens

The gardens opened in 2001 on twelve hectares of steep ground around Trauttmansdorff castle, arranged not by botanical family but by region: forests of the world, sun gardens of the Mediterranean and South Africa, landscapes of South Tyrol with vines and orchards, and water gardens, with about eighty separate settings and a difference of a hundred metres in height across the site. Empress Elisabeth stayed in the castle in 1870 and 1889, and it now holds a museum of tourism in the region. Viewing platforms are placed through the grounds, one of them designed by Matteo Thun cantilevered over the slope.

History

Count Joseph von Trauttmansdorff first laid out gardens here around 1850 while restoring the castle, and Empress Elisabeth of Austria often came to Merano and its gardens. The original gardens later disappeared, and a completely new garden was planted between 1994 and 2001 and opened to the public in 2001 (Wikipedia, Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens).

What to look for

• The world landscapes - gardens arranged by region rather than family.
• The castle museum - a tourism museum in the empress's former lodging.
• The viewing platforms - structures cantilevered over the steep slope.
• The South Tyrol section - vines, orchards and local landscape planting.

When to go

April to October; the gardens close for winter, roughly November to March. Late spring gives the fullest flowering. Summer evening concerts run in the grounds.

Good to know

The gardens close entirely for several months. The site is steep with a hundred metres of height difference and a lot of walking. Summer weekends are crowded.

Nearby

Merano lies below; the Val Venosta runs west.

Key facts