Runkelstein Castle - The Exposition
20/04/2000 - 29/10/2000
Exhibition
room
1
The
original name of ‘Runchenstayn’ is derived from the Latin verb runcare (= to clear) and the word stein comes from the Middle High German word which means ‘rock’
but also ‘rock-castle’.
Two brothers, Friedrich II and Beral of Wangen, with permission of
Royal Bishop Alderich and the
landowner Count Albert III of Tyrol, founded Runkelstein Castle. This
legal act was documented and dated February 10th, 1237. The contents
of that official document were copied onto parchment in 1255 and this parchment
is exhibited here.
This
document gave the Lords of Wangen the right to construct buildings and
fortifications at ”Runchenstayn” and allowed the Royal Bishops of Trent free access (ius apertura) at any
time.
During the first part of the 13th century the Lords of Wangen,
originally from the Vinschgau valley, were the noble family who reigned over the
southern part of the Sarntal valley and its access points into the basin of Bolzano. The castles called ‘Wangen-Bellermont’, ‘Ried’ and
‘Rafenstein’ were already strategically placed for defence. The Lords of
Wangen also had certain rights in the city of Trent (The Tower of
Wangen) in the far south of Tyrol, in the Meran basin, in Upper Engadin,
in the valleys of Vinschgau and Puster and in the upper valley of the Inn.
After the death of the Count of Tyrol (1253) the ‘country at the Etsch
and its surrounding mountains’, that is ‘Tyrol’, passed into the hands of
the Count of Görz. The House of Wangen was now confronted with new sovereigns
and their claims of power over the basin of Meran.
Disagreements worsened during the time of Meinhard II and the nobles of
Wangen, being allies of the Royal Bishops of Trent, were drawn into battle over
the city of Bolzano. In 1277, during the siege of the city, the castles of the
Lords of Wangen were conquered and partially destroyed by Meinhard II. He took
possession of
Runkelstein Castle and it was handed over ‘in fief’ to Gottschalk
Knoger of Bolzano. These historic records are displayed in the first three
showcases.
In
the centre showcase is a beautiful and unusual coin called the ‘ Gold
Augustalis’ from the period of
Emperor Frederick II. Emperor Frederick II is depicted on the face of the
coin as an ‘ancient’ Roman emperor.
The
last large show-case in this room displays samples of tools used for building
from this period.
Exhibition
room
2
In
this room there is a display of items pertaining to the three areas of life
important to medieval nobles: hunting, tournament and daily living, and these
are also partially represented in the frescoes of the West Palace. The
illustrated murals together with the items displayed, contrast to give an
overview of medieval life. There are archeological remains of wooden boards from
Udine,
made for decorating
the inner hall of an urban palace, artistically showing the life of the
nobles in an idealistic manner. Hunting and killing of
bears and chamois and other animals, falconry and
fishing are represented and these are also depicted on the walls of the
Hall of the Tournament. Hunting rights were gradually withdrawn from the
peasants and therefore hunting became more and more a
privilege of the Nobles. Hence, the Hunt together with the Tournament and
‘courtly love’ (Minne), epitomized
medieval courtly life.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Tournament was
initially invented to keep the knights prepared for emergencies and they were
divided into various types of tournament using a variety of ‘weapons’. The
frescoes in Runkelstein Castle show tournaments where lances and clubs are used.
The fresco in the big Hall of the Tournament shows 2 teams of 6 knights riding
towards each other with their lances, trying to knock their opponents from their
saddles. In the fresco in the ‘Hall of Lovers’, the knights are using clubs
to disarm each other. Initially these were meant to be playful tournaments
between the teams of knights, but very often they ended in bloodshed or death.
This development of uncontrolled aggression, frequently occurring in the
tournaments, can be seen in the fresco showing a ‘club tournament’ where
four participants from one team are attacking just one helpless opponent. All
the dress and equipment needed for a club tournament, in about the 14th
century, has been faithfully reconstructed. Experts on the Middle Ages belonging
to a society called “The Association of the Elephant”, have used accurate
data on Medieval weights and patterns or coats-of arms discovered at
Runkelstein and this is the first time this equipment has ever been
exhibited. Daily life is represented by items displaying activities of
‘courtly love’ (Minne Love),
musical instruments, clothes, tools and instruments used in other pastimes, such
as cooking, eating and playing games.
Exhibition
room
3
This
room goes back to the mercantile roots of the Vintler family and their progress
from there. Nikolaus and Franz Vintler, who originated from a very
well-established, wealthy merchant family, bought
Runkelstein Castle in 1385. They ordered rebuilding on a large scale and
arranged for the building of the ‘Summer-House’. The Vintlers commissioned
all the frescoes on the walls of the West Palace and the Summer-House.
These paintings represent the largest and best-preserved sets of Medieval
secular frescoes to be seen anywhere in the world. Because of their wealth, the
Vintlers, who were not nobles by birth, could realise their aspirations and lead
a lifestyle of rank.
The
displayed material illustrates the large variety in this family’s cultural and
political activities. Nikolaus Vintler was raised to be a highly significant
intermediary agent and a financier, but above all, he was counsellor to Prince
Leopold III. of this country. Besides these positions he dedicated himself to
art.
He commissioned Heinz Sentlinger to copy and enlarge the famous
‘Chronicle of the World’ by Henry of Munich (Heinrich
von München), to be written at Runkelstein Castle. A few years later his
nephew Leopold, re-commissioned Heinz Sentlinger to add more to “The
Chronicle”
by Henry of Munich and this, with other documents of the time are
preserved here proving
their cultural interest. A sensational find during the reconstruction of
this room was that parts of the old, original frescoes painted on the northern
and western walls of the room still remained, and can be seen today.
Additionally, the content of the fresco on the eastern wall could be
reconstructed by Friedrich von Schmidt from a sketch called, ‘The Tale of the
Violet’. Unfortunately this fresco has been destroyed, but an enlargement of
the sketch reveals the fresco as it no doubt was in its original form.
Exhibition
room
4
This
room relates the history of the castle in a slightly later period starting with
the exile to the castle of the Royal Bishop of Trent, George Hack. He was there
like ‘a bird in a gilded cage’ at Runkelstein Castle from 1463 - 1465. The
Princes of Tyrol took possession of the castle and this is evidenced by
different objects belonging to Archduke Sigmund ‘des
Münzreichen’ ( ‘rich with coins’) and Emperor Maximilian I.
Both took care of the castle in his own way. In the second half of the 15th
century Sigmund bought the castle because of its strategic position, to protect
the valley against a possible invasion by the Venetians.
Emperor Maximilian I turned Runkelstein Castle into one of his hunting
residences, whereas, the castle itself was given to royal administrators. The
Royal Bishop, Bernhard von Cles, who was one of the most important figures in
history at the time of Emperor Charles V, arranged for the diocese of Trent to
regain supreme power over fiefdom of the castle. Therefore, in 1538 the diocese
made the counts of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn fiefs of Runkelstein Castle. From
1554 a branch of that dynasty was residing at Runkelstein and they partially
reconstructed the castle and
depicted their coat-of-arms over the entrance. It was at about this time that
Runkelstein Castle began deteriorating. In 1672 the East Palace caught fire and
was never restored, as can be seen in 19th century sketches in Room 5
of the exhibition. Because he had no descendants, when Count Franz von
Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn died, his fiefdom was
relinquished and the Diocese of Trent took direct charge of the castle which by then had more or less become degraded to the state of a manor.
Exhibition room 5
With the following two rooms the exhibition is reaching beyond the middle age and the early Modern times and shows the gradual transition into the 19th and 20th century. Romantics rediscovered Runkelstein - gradually decaying since the time of the counts of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn -. Josef Görres, a German ‘romantic’, came first followed by the circle of artists of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who visited Runkelstein in 1833 and in 1840. Many drawings, paintings, some literature, photographs and post cards are witness to the awakening of Runkelstein Castle from its ‘sleeping beauty’ state which lasted for over 200 years. The ‘beautiful ruin’ and the residuals of ‘Knighthood’ were re-discovered, thereby having a role in enlightening us about the romantic aura of the middle ages. Likewise, on the 19th and 20th of April, 1897, the citizens of Bolzano celebrated by holding a glittering Medieval Fancy-dress Ball. Dressed in medieval costumes they also amused themselves with Medieval ‘role-plays’. For the occasion, a commemorative programme was published and this is in proud possession of the castle today. These memoirs, old pictures, photographs and drawings have been a great help in reconstructing the castle. This is especially true of the northern wall of the ‘Summer-House ’. It had collapsed in 1868 after the foundation of bedrock had been blasted to build a new road into the Sarntal valley. Several large blocks of beautiful frescoes telling the tale of ‘Tristan and Garel’, were saved and have been re-assembled on the walls in this chamber. Before the collapse of the wall Ignaz Seelos was commissioned to copy all the frescoes of Runkelstein and, therefore, at least the sequence of the tales of Tristan and Garel were saved in east drawings.
Exhibition
room
6
In 1881, Archduke Johann Salvator bought Runkelstein Castle from the Royal Bishops of Trent and gave it to Emperor Franz Josef as a present. The Emperor commissioned the outstanding chief architect Friedrich von Schmidt to restore the castle. The collapsing structure of the outer walls of the Summer-House and the East Palace were completely demolished then newly constructed for safety reasons and the tower was totally rebuilt. The plans and drawings done by Friedrich von Schmidt have been very valuable for the present custodians of the castle. They have given us an insight into the state of the buildings before reconstruction and have helped us understand his plans for the reconstruction
As
mentioned in Room 3, it was Friedrich von Schmidt who drew the sketch of the
fresco ‘The Tale of the Violet’ which had decorated
the eastern wall. This is the
first time that certain archaeological objects, probably found during
this period of reconstruction in the 19th century, have been
displayed. One special discovery was a fragment of a so-called ‘Kuttrolf’.
This was a spirit bottle whose neck had been rolled into 5 blowpipes allowing
the liquor contained in it, ( most likely Grappa/Schnapps)
to be saturated with sufficient oxygen to produce an optimal aroma – a
rather brilliant invention!
In
this room there is also a video clip to be seen. It shows scenes from the film
“Il Decamerone” which was adapted for the cinema by the writer, Pier Paolo
Pasolini. This was filmed in 1970, in and around South Tyrol and also at
Runkelstein Castle before recent restoration. A biography of Pasolini was
documented for television in 1999 called, ‘Un giallo puramente
intellettuale’ (RAI-Bolzano) – (“A Purely Intellectual Mystery”) and was
directed by Paolo Bonaldi and Francesca Nesler. This documentary tells of this
complex author and the mystery surrounding his death.