Castel Katzenstein, sometimes Italianised as Castel del Gatto, is a medieval castle in the surroundings of Merano. It first appears in documents in 1258, as the seat of the lords of Katzenstein, a family that became fairly powerful in the area.
What to see
The core of the castle is the crenellated keep, incorporated into the rectangular residential palace. Inside is a hall with furniture and paintings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Its present appearance dates from the nineteenth century. In 1450 the male line of the Katzenstein died out, and the castle began to pass between various families: first the Auer, then the Jäger, the Katzenböck and others. In 1866 it became the property of Franz Huber, who restored it thoroughly and gave it the form seen today.
Visiting
The castle is a private residence, belonging to the Menz family, and cannot be visited: it can only be looked at from outside.
Our editors' tip
The family's weight can be measured in the papers of the fourteenth century. In 1355 Dietpold von Katzenstein was counsellor to Louis of Brandenburg, the husband of Margarete Maultasch; in 1357 he was, with his brother Rudolf, territorial judge of Gries in Bolzano, and in 1361, again with his brother, he sat in the regional Diet of Merano.
