Castel Flavon - Haselburg

Castel Flavon - Haselburg rises above southern Bolzano in South Tyrol as a medieval hilltop castle. Its elevated position reflects the High Middle Ages, when height offered both military advantage and social prestige.

The Lords of Haselberg built the fortress in the early thirteenth century, and parts were destroyed around 1300 before later rebuilding. Leonhard II of Völs shaped much of the present appearance through mid-sixteenth-century renovations, while an eighteenth-century fire left large sections in ruins. Renaissance frescoes bring the interiors to life with ancient emperors, generals, scenes from their lives and episodes from the myth of Apollo, painted by Bartlmä Dill Riemenschneider. A congress centre and restaurant now occupy the historic setting.

A black coat of arms once showed a diagonal golden branch with three rising twigs, a detail later adopted by the Kuepach noble family.