Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens
Botanic gardens arranged as landscapes of the world, wrapped round the castle where an empress convalesced.
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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.
What you actually see
- 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.
Honest expectations
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.
What to pack for Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.