Heinfels Castle 2023: A year full of cultural highlights and discoveries

This year was characterized by a lively museum, concerts, exhibitions and exciting activities at Heinfels Castle. The castle remains an important cultural hotspot in East Tyrol and beyond.

The start of an exciting museum year began with the East Tyrolean Museum Days in May. An exciting puzzle rally led young and old through Heinfels Castle. In the museum store, Gertrud Mair presented a game she had developed. An Interreg project highlighted the forgotten connections, the historical relationships between Cadore and Alta Pusteria. In June, this year's special exhibition of the Tyrolean Photo Archive TAP was opened at Heinfels Castle. It shows East Tyrol's path to modernity in the period from 1870/71 to 1970.


The special TAP exhibition 2023 in the castle tavern showed East Tyrol's path to modernity from 1870/71 - 1970.

Varied program as part of the "Heinfelser Burgsommer"

The "Heinfelser Burgsommer" once again offered a wealth of events this year, from concerts and readings to a spectacular sports competition. The "International Choir Festival" took place in June, with seven choirs from Switzerland and Italy performing in front of the impressive castle backdrop. The brilliant concert by Katrin & Werner Unterlercher, known from the Herbert Pixner Project, thrilled the audience and transported them into the multifaceted world of "string music of an extraordinary kind". In July, author Christian Schnalke presented his new novel "Gewitterschwestern", which is inspired by personal experiences in the mountains.

But modern music also has its place within the old walls: The "Runway Quartet" from Innsbruck played Broadway hits and pop songs in their own arrangements. In August, the "Heinfelser Turmlauf" provided a sporting challenge on the demanding route from the Punbrugge to the keep. The "Passacaglia della Vita" concert with works by Claudio Monteverdi and other Renaissance and Baroque composers delighted the audience in summer and underlined the uniqueness of the castle as a venue.


As one of the many venues in the Pustertal Valley, the castle provided an impressive setting for the "International Choir Festival".


Katrin and Werner Unterlercher delighted the audience at the "Heinfels Castle Summer".


The "Heinfelser Turmlauf" with start at the Punbrugge and finish on the keep was once again a spectacular sporting event this year.

The concerts by "Waldauf³" and "Cordes y Butons" brought the "Heinfelser Burgsommer" 2023 to a more than worthy close. Outside the historic walls, the castle parking lot provided a festival site for the up-and-coming young musician Chris Steger with support act ElisaLeen for the first time. This concert alone attracted 800 guests from near and far to Heinfels at the beginning of September.

"Cultural Dialogues" 2023: The return of Fortuna

A sensational find from 2021 returned to the castle as part of the "Cultural Dialogues" in September: the "Fortuna of Heinfels", a bronze statuette measuring just 12.5 cm, was presented to the public for the first time as part of a lecture. It will find a permanent place in the castle's permanent exhibition in the near future.


The "Fortuna of Heinfels" was presented to the public for the first time in September.

There were also lots of exciting activities for children. First and foremost the children's birthday parties, but also numerous special guided tours and, for the first time, a herbal workshop in September, which immersed the youngest visitors in the magical world of castle herbs.

"Kulturgestöber&Kulinarik", an event of the "Osttiroler Kulturspur", focused on regional cultural treasures in October. Heinfels Castle was once again an important event venue - with guided tours of this year's special exhibition and the castle grounds.

A total of 35 events took place - including 12 weddings - attracting a total of 2,300 visitors. In addition, the museum welcomed an impressive 12,000 guests in 2023.

Preparations for 2024 have been underway since the autumn and visitors can once again look forward to a varied program and new museum content. Construction work on the restaurant in the west wing is scheduled to begin in the summer and the wing is expected to open in 2026 with around 180 seats in the restaurant.

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The 25th edition of the International Choir Festival brings some choirs for the first time to Heinfels Castle! On Saturday, 18. 6., choirs from Italy will give a guest performance in the impressive historical scenery, starting at 1 pm. Free entry, welcome!

Recently, a Viscope telescope has been added to our castle tour! With a look through the telescope you get the most important info about the panoramic points like mountain peaks or places in the region.

We are really looking forward to the regular start of the new season on May 1st! In addition to our guided time travel through the historical castle, you can also explore the outdoor areas, the platforms and the keep on your own during the panoramic tour. In summer, many events invite you to visit the castle!

The museum opened as early as May, but it was not until July that the travel restrictions fell. By the end of the season on 7 November, 12,372 visitors had been counted at Heinfels Castle.

For the first time, the 10,000-visitor threshold was exceeded in one season. We were very happy about this together with our guests from Germany!

 

After more than 200 years, a bell rings again at Heinfels Castle. Bishop Hermann Glettler consecrated the new guardian angel bell on May 9.

New at the beginning of the 2021 season: The outdoor areas of Heinfels Castle can be explored on your own as part of the panoramic tour during opening hours! As soon as conditions permit, our guided tours of the extensive castle grounds will also take place.

Only rarely does the castle experience such winters; for weeks the complex lay under a thick layer of snow of over 150 cm. The access roads were barely kept clear and only with difficulty could the most important parts of the castle be reached.

On 15 July 2020 we opened Heinfels Castle. In this short and very challenging season, we were nevertheless able to welcome 5508 visitors in 659 guided tours until October 26 due to the worldwide pandemic with many travel restrictions!

On Wednesday, July 15, we started the first summer season with the museum, shop and castle tavern. The preparations for this were already in full swing for some time.

The current situation also has Heinfels Castle firmly under control. Construction work has resumed after the obligatory break and we are continuing to work flat out to complete the museum.

Three years ago the elaborate work on the largest profane restoration project in Tyrol began. All the roofs of the castle, with the exception of the tower from 1992, have now been newly roofed and the access paths inside the complex have already been paved. The opening of the museum is planned for early summer 2020