Hocheppan Castle (german: Burg Hocheppan) lies on the territory of the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of Missian in the municipality of Eppan near

Bozen Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

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 = ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). Hocheppan is one of the most important fortifications in South Tyrol.

Location

The medieval

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles a ...

stands on precipitous crags above Missian.

History

Most South Tyrolean castle scholars believe the castle hill was already settled and fortified in the

Rhaeti The Raeti (spelling variants: ''Rhaeti'', ''Rheti'' or ''Rhaetii'') were a confederation of Alpine tribes, whose language and culture was related to those of the Etruscans. Before the Roman conquest, they inhabited present-day Tyrol in Austria, ...

an period. The most recent archaeological finds confirm this. According to one theory, Hocheppan Castle was built around 1125 by Count Ulrich II of Eppan as a stronghold (''Trutzburg''). Other researchers believe a later construction date is more probable. The former seat of the counts of Eppan near the village of St. Pauls had become unsafe due to conflicts with the

counts of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised p ...

. Where it was, exactly, is not known, but in any case the Altenburg ("Old Castle") in Eppan is not the predecessor of Hocheppan. In 1158, after the Eppans had ambushed a Papal delegation, the castle was destroyed in a punitive expedition under

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

, but was then rebuilt. In 1315, it was transferred to the princes of Tyrol, who subsequently

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

it to various families. In 1834, Emperor Francis I enfeoffed the castle to Martin Teimer von Wildau. Since 1911 the counts of Enzenberg have owned Hocheppan. Meanwhile, the structure of the castle has been consolidated and, in places, restored. The site is home to a snack bar today.

Description

Hocheppan Castle

Access to the castle, which was extended over the centuries, is from the north through a complex system of outworks, guarded by battery towers, from the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, much of which dates to the 16th century. Outside the actual

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. Fo ...

, an open

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of diff ...

, which could be defended with firearms, guards the site. Dominating the castle is the high pentagonal

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

, a shape which is rare in the Tyrol, whose condition is endangered by a deep fissure in the masonry.

Castle chapel

The frescoes in the castle chapel are some of the best preserved in Tyrol. On the inner and outer walls scenes from the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and the apostles are depicted as well as other Biblical scenes, such as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

Chalk Tower

About ten minutes walk from Hocheppan is the Chalk Tower (''Kreidenturm''), a separates outwork of the castle. It consists of a very high, white, limed tower that is probably still at its original height. It is surrounded by a small chemise.

HochEppanHB09.jpg, The entrance side Hocheppan Burghof.jpg, In the castle courtyard Hocheppan Burgschenke.jpg, Outdoor seating at the café Hocheppan Kapelle Südseite.jpg, The castle chapel Eppan Hocheppan Fresken 1.jpg, Frescoes in the chapel HochEppanKreidenturm.jpg, The Chalk Tower

Literature

* Walter Landi, Helmut Stampfer and Thomas Steppan: ''Hocheppan: eine Grafenburg mit romanischen Kapellenfresken'' (= ''Burgen''. 10). Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg, 2011, * Johann Nothdurfter: ''Burgkapelle Hocheppan: Beobachtungen zu spätantiker Herkunft und vorburgenzeitlicher Bebauung''. In: ''Arx'', 23, 2001, pp. 14–18 * Helmut Stampfer and Thomas Steppan: ''Die Burgkapelle von Hocheppan''. Athesia, Bozen, 1998,

External links

*
hocheppan.it

Artist's impression
by Wolfgang Braun
Hocheppan Castle ensemble conservation plan
by the municipality of Eppan (pdf) {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1125 Gothic architecture in Italy Castles in South Tyrol Establishments in the Princely County of Tyrol