Burgen im Bozener Land - 1938
This rather peculiar booklet with 22 images of Castles in the Bolzano Region in Südtirol or Alto Adige in Italian is published in 1938. It is part of a series of 16 editions that was published in between 1937 and 1939. Its size is A5 and the magazine lacks copperdeepprint, the reason why it is has a totally different look and feel than Kurt Hielscher's other publications. Both the choice of the topics and the design of the magazine with its Gotic script on the cover we must see in the context of the era, close to the outbreak of WWII, in which the magazine was published.
In his preface, Kurt Hielscher explains his choice for the Burgen im Bozener Land because "these are less known." Also the high number of castles in a quite small region was emphasized by him and the fact that the castles are situated in a mountainous area fits his previous work.
Maybe his (?) choice for a by German speakers dominated region in another country, Italy, tells us something about those days and this magazine, but Kurt Hielscher's preface is about the castles and the mountains and he stays away from any politics.
Anyway, now that I achieved the magazine and I was passing the region with my family coming from Verona on our way back home to The Netherlands at the end of our winterholidays 2024-2025, I took the opportunity to visit two castles.
Schloss Runkelstein/Castel Roncolo and Schloss Ried/Castel Novale are situated only a stone's throw away from one another. From a bridge over the small Talfer river one can see both castles at the same time. Runkelstein is the most spectacular one and me and my family decided to bring a visit after passing Bozen/Bolzano where we didn't stop. Instead we went to Brixen/Bressano which turned out a quite a pleasant surprise where we went for dinner and stayed for the night. The day after we enjoyed the mountanous surroundings. Later more about Schloss Ried/Castel Novale and hopefully also about more Castles in the Bolzano region.
Roncolo/Runkelstein
Only reopened to the public in 2000, Runkelstein dates back to 1237 AD. The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I became the owner of Runkelstein Castle in 1490. He ordered the restoration of the decaying frescos that are still there to admire, hence the nickname the "painted castle."
Schloss Runkelstein/Castel Roncolo, 1938. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.
Schloss Runkelstein/Castel Roncolo, 2nd of January 2025. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
Inside Runkelstein
Runkelstein is nicknamed the "painted castle".
View from Schloss Runkelstein to Schloss Ried with the Talfer river and the bridge from which Kurt Hielscher made his photo.
Castel Novale/Schloss Ried situated opposite of Runkelstein. Later more.
Schloss Runkelstein/Castel Roncolo and Schloss Ried/Castel Novale are also situated next to one another in the middle of the magazine "Deutsche Meisteraufnahmen" from 1938. Later more about Schloss Ried/Castel Novale.
Brixen/Bressano
From Runkelstein we went to Brixen to stay there for the night, totally unprepared, but it turned out a pleasant city with a lovely center to stroll around.
The day after, we went up into the mountains near Brixen and enjoyed the scenery.
Kirche zum heiligen Jakob/Chiesa di San Giacomo
From Brixen, we went further up to the north passing Innsbruck at sunset and the Fernpass in the dark, which made the trip quite adventurous in the freezy cold, but we ended the day in Kempten in Germany, where we really had a cold nigght with temperatures going down till minus 10 Celsius and fresh snow during the night.
Staying for the night in the van in freezing Kempten.
Regardless the cold, we had a very rewarding evening stroll in Kempten.
Morning sunshine in Kempten was very welcome.
Below: View on Schloss Runkelstein/Castel Roncolo after we left after sunset.
