Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens

View of the gardens

Bronze bust of Empress Elisabeth, who was a frequent visitor

The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle (German: Die Gärten von Schloss Trauttmansdorff; Italian: I Giardini di Castel Trauttmansdorff) are botanical gardens located on the grounds of Trauttmansdorff Castle in Meran, Italy. The gardens are open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.

History

View of the gardens and Trauttmansdorff Castle, 20th century, source: State Archive in Poznań

The gardens were initially laid out circa 1850 by Count Trauttmansdorff during the castle's restoration. Empress Elisabeth of Austria was a frequent visitor to Meran and the gardens. A bronze bust in her memory was placed in the gardens after her assassination in Geneva in 1898.

Gardens

Today the castle grounds contain about 80 dedicated gardens with local and exotic plants, organized by region of origin, including typical landscapes of South Tyrol. Principal features of interest include:

• Forests of the world - conifers and deciduous trees from the Americas and Asia.
• Oleander Steps - flowering oleander, an ancient olive tree, etc.
• Sun Gardens - cultivated plants of the Mediterranean, including cypress, figs, grapevines, lavender, and Italy's northernmost olive grove.
• Water and Terraced Gardens - various gardens, including a formal Italian garden, English garden, and sensual garden.
• Wollemia nobilis specimen

The gardens also contain Aesculapian Snakes in their natural habitat, courtesy of the Alpine Zoo of Innsbruck, an aviary, a Japanese alluvial forest, rice terraces, and tea plantations.

See also

• Grandi Giardini Italiani
• List of botanical gardens in Italy

References

• Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle
• BGCI entry
• Udo Bernhart, Ulrike Dubis, Trauttmansdorff - Die Gärten / Giardini / The Gardens, BLV Buchverlag GmbH & Co, 2006. ISBN 3-8354-0263-3.

External links

Media related to Botanical gardens in Meran at Wikimedia Commons

• Homepage of the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle