The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle and Katzenzungen Castle offer an alluring special experience beginning 1 August: the Gardens & Wine Package starts up again, granting delightful insights into South Tyrol’s more than 3,000 years of wine history.

The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle offers a very special package for garden enthusiasts and wine aficionados alike. Every Thursday in August, September and October, the Gardens & Wine package affords an opportunity to explore South Tyrol wine country at the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle in conjunction with a visit to the largest and likely oldest grapevine in the world, the Versoaln, at Katzenzungen Castle in Prissiano (Prissian).

                       The Versoaln vine at Katzenzungen Castle in Prissiano

During the guided tour of the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, participants learn about old and partially forgotten grapevines growing in the vineyard. They’ll also visit the Tabernaculum, a walk-in treasury that houses a golden replica of a 7,000-year-old grape seeds, a gift from the nation of Georgia, and 2,400-year-old grape seeds from South Tyrol.

                            The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle vineyard

After a transfer by shuttle bus, the tour continues in Prissiano: it is here that the largest and likely oldest vine in the world, the Versoaln, grows. This vine boasts an age of over 350 years and a canopy that encompasses a surface area of 300 m2. Internationally renowned dendrochronologist Prof. Dr. M. Worbes, from the University of Göttingen (D), scientifically determined the age of the vine in 2004 on behalf of Laimburg Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. The package continues with a tour of the historical ruins of Katzenzungen Castle.
This journey through South Tyrol wine country is capped off by a wine tasting. In order to test their own wine knowledge, participants taste Alto Adige wines made from autochthonous grape varieties – and, of course, a glass of the very special Versoaln wine.

Gardens & Wine Experience Package
The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle and Katzenzungen Castle
Every Thursday in August, September and October
2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – € 30.00 per person
Registration up until the day before:
0473 235 730 or info@trauttmansdorff.it

This summer, 100 different varieties of Pelargonium will grace the Sissi Promenade at the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. Where Empress Elisabeth once strolled, geraniums will bloom in familiar and unusual color hues alike between now and September.

Pelargoniums are commonly known as geraniums. One hundred different varieties are currently flowering along the Sissi Promenade at the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. Here we see what is probably the most common of all balcony plants in an array of color nuances that is as rare as it is wide ranging.

                               Pelargonium parade on the Sissi Promenade

Four plant suppliers in South Tyrol and northern Italy made the geraniums available to Laimburg Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, the parent company of the gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. Laimburg observes and documents the growth and flowering behavior of Pelargonium. The data obtained is used mainly to advise South Tyrolean gardeners.

In addition to its research work, the Laimburg nursery is used for the teaching and training of gardeners in cooperation with Laimburg’s school; it has also taken on the important responsibilities of cultivating the plants for seasonal blooming exhibits at the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. Laimburg was able to give Trauttmasdorff some geranium specimens so that garden visitors between now and September can enjoy them while strolling along the Sissi Promenade.