Juval Castle (German: ''Schloss Juval''; it, Castel Juval ) is a medieval castle located at the entrance of the

Schnalstal The Schnalstal ( it, Val Senales) is a side valley of the Vinschgau in the autonomous administrative division, autonomous province of South Tyrol, Italy. It belongs almost in its entirety to the municipality of Schnals, while small parts in the en ...

, in the

Vinschgau The Vinschgau, Vintschgau () or Vinschgau Valley ( it, Val Venosta ; rm, Vnuost ; lld, Val Venuesta; medieval toponym: ''Finsgowe'') is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy. ...

, above the village of

Naturns Naturns (; it, Naturno ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 31 December 2015, it had a population of 5,739 and an area of .All demogra ...

in the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Kastelbell-Tschars Kastelbell-Tschars (; it, Castelbello-Ciardes ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,387 and an area of .All demographics ...

at around 1000 meters above sea level, in

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...

, northern Italy. It derives its name from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name of the mountain, ''Mons Jovis'' (mountain of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

). The oldest account of the castle dates to 1278, when it was owned by Hugo of Montalban. It was probably constructed about thirty years before the first account referencing it. In 1368, it was acquired by the lords of Starkenberg, and in 1540, it passed to Sinkmoser. The period from its construction to the mid 1500s was the castle's heyday. After several more changes of ownership, in 1813, it was sold to a local farmer, Josef Blaas. The castle was passed down through generations and was owned by the Blaas family until World War II, when it was taken over by the Nazis. Since 1983, it has been the summer residence (July and August) of mountaineer

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...

, who has partially converted it into a museum displaying works of Tibetan art and a collection of masks from five continents. A later restoration of the castle was presided over by Vinschgau architect Karl Spitaler. It is one of the venues of the

Messner Mountain Museum The Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) is a museum project created in 2006 by Italian mountaineer and extreme climber Reinhold Messner in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Messner's museum project is designed to educate visitors on "man's encounter with m ...

. The museum is closed in the summer months, when Messner resides in the castle. Around the castle there is a path open to the public along which there are informational signs relating to the botanical features on the grounds. For private individuals, the castle is accessible only on foot with an hour-long walk or by using a special bus service.

References

External links

Juval Castle
on the website of the Messner Mountain Museum Castles in South Tyrol Establishments in the Princely County of Tyrol {{Italy-castle-stub