Baroque jewel
The state rooms are richly outfitted with their original furnishings. In the 18th century Franz Andrä con Sternbach acquired the fort of Wolfsthurn above Mareit and between 1727 and 1741 constructed in its place the castle that to this day remains in the family’s possession. The castle, a magnificent example of baroque architecture, clearly shows the enthusiasm of that time for games with numbers: Wolfsthurn allegedly has 365 windows, 52 doors, 12 fireplaces and four portals – allusions to the dates, weeks, months and seasons of the calendar year.
The cultural history of hunting and fishing
The first floor shows the topic of hunting and fishing from a cultural and historical perspective. As well as the local animals exhibited in dioramas, a large space is devoted to popular traditions: hunting items such as powder horns, hunting bags and hunter’s instruments are decorated with hunting and game motifs, as are objects of popular art such as snuff boxes, splint boxes, pipes and drinking glasses.
The history of fishing in South Tyrol, dioramas showing the fish that occur in the waters of South Tyrol and the “Rudolf Reichel” collection on fly fishing round off the exhibition.
Learn through play
Three areas in the basement are designed especially for children. Here junior visitors can have fun discovering the local animal world, recognising animal voices and identifying animal tracks, exploring a bear’s cave, judging the age of deer antlers and mimicking the howling of a wolf.
The walking trail “Forest and Water”
The “Forest and Water” walking trail allows visitors to experience these two habitats with all their senses. The trail leads around one kilometre from the Mareit parish church up to the castle. The various stations and panels describe interesting facts about the forest and water. The trail is accessible to pushchairs.
