DOI issue:
Nr. 168 (March 1907)
DOI article:Levetus, A. S.: Schloss Tratzberg in north Tyrol
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20774#0124
Schloss
supervised by the Count himself, and whenever
additions have been made to the furniture it has
been done with a view to keep all in due place;
but even after all this lapse of years there is still
much to be done.
Viewed from the outside, the castle is seemingly a
mighty monument of strength, though it would
hardly serve as a stronghold against the incursions
of the enemy in our days. In days of yore it several
times offered a successful resistance to the Bavarians,
and indeed owes its origin to this very purpose, for
the Bavarians were a dangerous enemy to North
Tyrol in those days. The massive facade is relieved
by three turret towers, and the main entrance is
towards the mountain declivity. No less than six
battlements, formed like terraces enclosed by seven
towers, are still to be seen in good preservation.
Inside, too, the castle was furnished with many
then possible means of de-
fence and also of escape,
should such be unavoid-
able. By means of a secret
staircase built within the
walls there was access to
the cellars, whence by means
of a subterranean passage
the open was reached and
can still be reached. The
courtyard calls up visions
of past days : the frescoes
are still to be seen, though
their glory has departed,
and there are arcades on
two sides—a typical court-
yard of olden times. From
the right-hand corner the
main staircase leads to a
corridor with frescoes of
hunting scenes. Leading oft
this corridor are the rooms
inhabited by the Counts
Enzenburg and their fami-
lies during the greater part
of the year; the winter they
spend in Innsbruck or in
the lovely old-world town of
Schwaz, one station nearer
Innsbruck than Jenbach.
The size of the rooms
is remarkable, as is also
their height, especially
when it is taken into con-
sideration that they are
Gothic in form. Some of
Tratsberg
the ceilings are supported by marble pillars, as can
be seen by the illustrations of the Kdnigin'Zimmer;
in this room there are three which are placed just
vis-a-vis the oriel, which they seem to guard. Alto-
gether there are some fourteen such pillars in the
Schloss ranging from the cellars upwards, though
there is only one in each room besides the Konigin
Zimmer.
The arrangement of the rooms is interesting and
shows how the homes of the nobles differed from
those of the burghers. The rooms are called Stuben
and Kammer?i; the Stube was the living-room (it
must be remembered that many families lived
together in a Schloss, as they did in Italy), and
to each Stube one or two bedrooms (Kammern) were
attached, while in burgher families the Frauenstube
was at once bedroom for the wife and living-room
for the family. The Kammern were only for sleep-
SCHLOSS TRATZBERG : DOOR IN THE FUGGER ROOM
102
supervised by the Count himself, and whenever
additions have been made to the furniture it has
been done with a view to keep all in due place;
but even after all this lapse of years there is still
much to be done.
Viewed from the outside, the castle is seemingly a
mighty monument of strength, though it would
hardly serve as a stronghold against the incursions
of the enemy in our days. In days of yore it several
times offered a successful resistance to the Bavarians,
and indeed owes its origin to this very purpose, for
the Bavarians were a dangerous enemy to North
Tyrol in those days. The massive facade is relieved
by three turret towers, and the main entrance is
towards the mountain declivity. No less than six
battlements, formed like terraces enclosed by seven
towers, are still to be seen in good preservation.
Inside, too, the castle was furnished with many
then possible means of de-
fence and also of escape,
should such be unavoid-
able. By means of a secret
staircase built within the
walls there was access to
the cellars, whence by means
of a subterranean passage
the open was reached and
can still be reached. The
courtyard calls up visions
of past days : the frescoes
are still to be seen, though
their glory has departed,
and there are arcades on
two sides—a typical court-
yard of olden times. From
the right-hand corner the
main staircase leads to a
corridor with frescoes of
hunting scenes. Leading oft
this corridor are the rooms
inhabited by the Counts
Enzenburg and their fami-
lies during the greater part
of the year; the winter they
spend in Innsbruck or in
the lovely old-world town of
Schwaz, one station nearer
Innsbruck than Jenbach.
The size of the rooms
is remarkable, as is also
their height, especially
when it is taken into con-
sideration that they are
Gothic in form. Some of
Tratsberg
the ceilings are supported by marble pillars, as can
be seen by the illustrations of the Kdnigin'Zimmer;
in this room there are three which are placed just
vis-a-vis the oriel, which they seem to guard. Alto-
gether there are some fourteen such pillars in the
Schloss ranging from the cellars upwards, though
there is only one in each room besides the Konigin
Zimmer.
The arrangement of the rooms is interesting and
shows how the homes of the nobles differed from
those of the burghers. The rooms are called Stuben
and Kammer?i; the Stube was the living-room (it
must be remembered that many families lived
together in a Schloss, as they did in Italy), and
to each Stube one or two bedrooms (Kammern) were
attached, while in burgher families the Frauenstube
was at once bedroom for the wife and living-room
for the family. The Kammern were only for sleep-
SCHLOSS TRATZBERG : DOOR IN THE FUGGER ROOM
102