Kränzelstein tower in the Val Sarentino/Sarntal Valley, South Tyrol

Kränzelstein tower

The Kränzelstein tower is thought to have been built in the 13th century as a servant's residence by the Counts of Eppan. The mighty residential tower on the eastern edge of the village stands on a rectangular ground plan, 11.5 by 9.5 metres, and originally had only two storeys above the cellar room.

The tower is named after Hans von Chranzenstain, who owned the castle according to a document from 1362. The lords of Stet, a lord of Luttach and the Sarentino court lord Arnold von Niederthor appear among the later owners, as do the lords of Northeim, who called themselves the Sernteiner.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Kränzelstein was extended and enlarged significantly: the tower was raised, an extension was built on the mountain side and on the south side an economic wing with a circular wall was built. Weapons embrasures and more windows, the beamed ceiling of the parlour on the third floor and the partition walls of the fourth floor were added.

In 1635, the Bolzano merchant David Wagner zu Rottenbusch, who came from Augsburg, acquired the Kränzelstein tower, Reinegg castle and court and the aristocratic Kellerburg estate. Since 1681, his descendants, the Counts of Sarnthein, have been listed as the owners. From 1777 until the dissolution of the district court in 1922, the tower also served as a prison.

Since 1950, the Kränzelstein tower is protected as a historical monument. In 1985, the architect Roland Girardi buys it from Maria, Enrico and Marquardo di Sarentino, the Counts of Sarnthein. In 2016, the municipality acquired the medieval residential tower.

After extensive renovation and adaptation measures, Kränzelstein was opened to the public in 2022.