Italy · Restored
Prösels Castle
Prösels Castle (Castello di Presule) is a late-medieval Gothic castle on the high plain beneath the Schlern in South Tyrol, first recorded c.1279 and largely rebuilt by Leonhard of Völs in the late 15th century. It preserves a central palace with an old Romanesque archway and a decorative arcade. The castle today has been restored and is open to guided visits and cultural events.
Its prime
1500
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1500
What Prösels Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on a high alpine plain beneath the Schlern, the castle presents a pale plastered central palace with small rectangular windows and a tall, square main tower capped by a steep, dark slate pyramidal roof. A lower cylindrical defensive tower with a crenellated stone parapet and a small tiled conical roof projects from one side; thick curtain walls of pale stone enclose an inner courtyard. An arcaded gallery on the palace façade carries painted frescoes; doorways include an older Romanesque archway. Trees and pasture sit below the walls.
Its story
The story of Prösels Castle.
The lords of Völs, feudatories of the Bishopric of Brixen, are believed to have built a castle here, on the high plain below the Schlern, by about 1200. The Gothic castle seen today was built by Leonhard of Völs, born 1458, and preserves a central palace with an old Romanesque archway and a decorative arcade.
In Italian the castle is sometimes called Castel Colonna, because around the time of Leonhard II the Völs family began adding the Colonna name to their own. The explanations vary: descent from a branch of the Colonnas who came to Tyrol in the twelfth century; Leonhard II affirming his origins while fighting alongside Marcantonio Colonna at the Battle of Lepanto; or an adoption by Marcantonio to give Leonhard membership of the Roman dynasty — speculation rather than record.
The castle remained in the family's hands until its last member, Felix, Freiherr von Völs, died childless in 1810. Restored, it now opens for guided visits in summer and at Christmas, and hosts concerts, exhibitions and theatrical performances.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1500.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Prösels Castle — including 2 interiors: romanesque archway (entrance), arcaded gallery with frescoes. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Prösels Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1500 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Prösels Castle.
The families that held Prösels Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Völs
Seat of the lords of Völs from about 1200 until the last of the line, Felix, Freiherr von Völs, died childless in 1810.
