Castle Englar

Schloss Englar stands above the village of St Michael in the Eppan district of South Tyrol. The late-Gothic building was erected in 1475 as a noble residence for the Firmian family and enlarged in 1528. The Sebastianskapelle beside it was commissioned in 1450 and completed in 1475, its slender form crowned by a small pitched-roof tower. The castle’s history reflects the shifting fortunes of local dynasties. After the Firmian line died out in the 17th century, the Colonna von Völs and then the Khuen family became owners. In the 19th century Graf Karl von Khuen held the estate, and his son Graf Bruno summered here. The poet Otto Julius Bierbaum lived on the main floor from 1895 to 1899, writing major works and hosting artists such as Max Arthur Stremel and Rainer Maria Rilke. Today the western wing has been converted into a hotel, while the Sebastianskapelle remains intact. Its interior shows late-Gothic ribbed vaults with ornamental patterns and three 18th-century Baroque altars. The chapel was restored in 2015, returning its delicate architecture and furnishings to their former state.