Castel Rafenstein, also called Castel Sarentino (in German Burgruine or Schloss Rafenstein), is a ruined castle to the north-west of Bolzano: it rises on the western slope of the Val Sarentino, south-east of San Genesio, above the gorge of the Talvera.
What to see
What remains of the complex are the walls and structures of white limestone, which from a distance give the impression of a rough building, never completed and then abandoned. In the Middle Ages the palace and curtain walls were already built in the 13th century, and in the 14th a bailey, an entrance tower and a south wing were added; in the 16th century the castle was fortified with a bailey and a circular bastion, to withstand firearms. Today some bastions and part of the curtain walls have been pulled down. From where it stands, at 692 metres, the view takes in the Bolzano basin and, to the north, the Val Sarentino.
In the Middle Ages and still in the early modern period the complex was important for its position on a trade route linking San Genesio to Bolzano through the Rauhenbühel, literally «rough hill», attested since 1316 as Rouhenpuhel, which also gave the castle its name. At the beginning of the 17th century the residential wing was raised. Around 1600 Marx Sittich von Wolkenstein, feudal lord of the castle, wrote here his renowned Landesbeschreibung von Tirol, the historical-statistical description of the county of Tyrol. At the beginning of the 19th century the castle was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since 2008 it has been the object of an important restoration to preserve the walls at risk of collapse, and in May 2014 the complex became accessible to visitors again.
Visiting
The ruins are reached by a short climb from Bolzano, which starts to the right of the valley station of the San Genesio cable car, following the stream, and reaches a 33% gradient: it is recommended to those used to walking. According to the source the ruin may be unsafe and cannot be visited inside; access conditions and the state of the works should be checked before setting out.
Our editors' tip
Make the climb about the view: from the castle you can see the Bolzano basin and the Val Sarentino, and from afar the white limestone part of the building looks like a structure left half-finished.
