[Blaz Berlec]

I'm sure I don't have to introduce castle Churburg to readers here, it's armoury has been a focus of books like "The Churburg Armoury" by Carlo Paggiarino or the prohibitively expensive two book set "The Armoury of the Castle of Churburg"...




Link to the location of the castle: MAP

Web page of the castle is unfortunately only in Italian and German: http://www.churburg.com/

Information from the web page www.suedtirolerland.it:

One of the best preserved castles of South Tyrol rises at the entrance of Val Mazia at Sluderno and is called Castel Coira. In 1259 this building was mentioned for the first time under the name “Curberch” in a document of the archbishop Heinrich von Monfort, which had the castle built around 1250. However, already in 1297 the castle passed to the Lords of Mazia, which were in constant feud with the prince-bishopric of Chur. At the beginning of the 16th century, after the death of the last representative of the Lords of Mazia, the castle again changed hands and passed on to the Counts of Trapp.

The most ancient nucleus of the Romanesque period is represented by the donjon, the great hall and the circular wall. Up until the 16th century the castle was able to preserve its Mediaeval appearance. Only when it passed into the hands of the Counts of Trapp, substantial renovations and extensions were made. In the course of this period, residential buildings, Zwinger palaces, chapels, bays and garden terraces in gothic style were annexed. Only in the second half of the 16th century the castle was converted into a Renaissance castle.

Today the castle, which has never been destroyed, offers a rich variety of well-furbished rooms. Particularly interesting for those who love arts are the Madonna sculpture, the funeral shields in the castle chapel and the decorated arcades with Renaissance vault made of the typical marble of Lasa in Val Venosta. Moreover Castel Coira offers the largest private armory worldwide, including an almost complete collection of armaments for the entire castle crew with more than 50 suits of armour, thrustings and swords.

Opening hours:
from March 20 to October 31, 2018
Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 12 am and from 2 pm to 4.30 pm
only guided visits (every 15 min.)
closed on Mondays, except on bank holidays

Admission:
10.00 Euros (adults), free for kids under 6 years
4.00 Euros (schoolchildren in groups), 5.00 Euros (students in groups)
family ticket available

Further information:
phone: +39 0473 615241, info@churburg.com


Italian province South Tyrol (Italian: Alto Adige) is mostly German speaking province on the north of Italy, it is Italian since 1918. The whole province got Italian versions of names, hence the castello Coira (German: Schloss Churburg), village name Sluderno (German: Schluderns), Lords of Mazia (German: Matsch), et cetera... It can be a bit confusing, especially when your car navigation offers one or the other set of names...

I visited the castle with my re-enactor group in October 2016. Why did it take me so long? The castle is only 450 km away from me, closer than Vienna or Prague... Because I read long ago, when I first planned the visit, of all the restrictions when visiting Churburg. The castle is not just a museum, it is still the residence of the Count Johannes Trapp - his family now owns the castle for more than 500 years, and they are relatives of the Lords of Matsch that owned the castle from 13th to 16th century. The only way to see the armoury is to go on a guided tour of the castle which lasts about an hour, but the castle is big and full of many wonders ( ), so the time allotted for the armoury is usually only 15 - 20 minutes! And photography is generally forbidden. Bummer. But since I heard they do make exceptions I have written them, and they answered positively to all my requests - we got the guided tour even before they generally open the door (we had a busy day), we got extra time in the armoury (about half an hour), and they allowed me to take some photos in there. I should have asked if I can take any of the armours with me... I don't know if that is the norm or they are more flexible with the groups (we were a small group, 9 visitors), but I've read they have allowed surprised visitors that were shocked at only 15 minutes of armoury to join the next guided tour just for that part. I hope some day they will start offering more Armoury oriented tours - it's not that the rest of the castle is uninteresting (far from it, and the guide was really good), but it's really shame that you cannot spend a couple of hours in such a treasury!

A couple of photos from castle Churburg:




The castle Churburg!


Armoury, this room was formerly used for storing hay for horses.


CH S13, armour of Ulrich IV von Matsch, Milano (and Germany), 1361 - 70


Aventail CH S1, Germany, around 1480.


CH S15 bascinet with aventail Milano or Germany, around 1385


CH S13, armour of Ulrich IV von Matsch, Milano (and Germany), 1361 - 70


Italian armour CH S19, Ulrich IX von Matsch, Milano, around 1450, Giovanni Negroli, with tournament grand bascinet CH S22, Galeazzo d'Arco, Milano, 1445-50, Tommaso Misaglia.


Italian composite armour CH S18 (Urs), Lombardy and Germany, around 1370-1410.


Italian composite armour CH S18 (Urs), Lombardy and Germany, around 1370-1410.

Many more available here on Facebook, at about half way down the gallery of our trip through Tyrol: Zlate ostroge visit Tyrol

[Mark Moore]

Always glad to see good armor photos! Thanks for posting! .....McM

[Sean Manning]

The thing I was surprised while I visited the Vinschgau is that nobody talks about Glurns/Glorenza. It is only two km upriver and in my view it is much more helpful than the very short visit which visitors get in the armoury.

In other words, if you want to study their armour spend your money on books, if you want to learn about the wonderful Vinschgau, and how a collection like that was able to survive, take time for the other towns, castles, hiking trails, and museums in the area. Pay close attention when they talk about how the armour was stored before the 20th century, and the relationship between the Counts von Trapp and the Vogts of Masch.