Castle ruin of Montechiaro

The ruins of Lichtenberg Castle are perched high above the town of Montechiaro/Lichtenberg near Prato/Prad at the Passo dello Stelvio/ Stilfserjoch Pass. The castle has a rich history of Minnesang, a courtly tradition of lyric and song that was popular in the Middle Ages.

The Count of Tyrol held the enlarged castle up until 1513; the Counts of Khuen-Belasi subsequently took it over, and still own it today. The castle’s tradition of minstrelsy is still visible in the fragments and traces of once-sumptuous fresco decoration leftover from the heyday of the courts. Most of the fresco cycle was removed in 1912, and was transferred to the Ferdinandeum Museum in Innsbruck.