Castel Walbenstein, also called Castel Fingeller (in German Burg Walbenstein or Fingeller Schlössl), is a ruin on the road that climbs from Bolzano towards Sarentino.
What to see
Very little of the castle is preserved. A main wall, 180 centimetres thick, with arrow slits, and part of the enclosure wall, 120 centimetres thick, remain visible. The building cannot have been very large: according to the Südtiroler Burgenkarte it was made up of a basement, a first floor and, probably, an attic. The slits, on closer analysis, turn out to have been designed for firearms.
Very little is known of the castle, also because of its ruined state, and mostly one deals with conjecture. According to Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe it is a building of the mid-12th century; the first documentary mention is of 1184-85, when a Gotschalcus de Vallewenstan, a ministerial of the counts of Appiano, is named. Krahe and Caminiti suppose it was abandoned as early as 1300, but the slits for firearms would suggest a later building; on the other hand a castle Walbenstein is shown, perfectly standing, in a fresco at Castel Roncolo of 1390.
Visiting
Of the path that led to the castle there is no trace left: to reach the ruins you have to make a short scramble, so the visit suits only those used to walking on difficult ground. Access conditions should be checked before setting out.
Our editors' tip
Look at the slits of the main wall: whether they were designed for firearms is the point that casts doubt on the date of abandonment, set by some scholars at 1300.
