Castel – History
Among the silent peaks of the Dolomites stands a place that has always been unlike any other. Founded in the 11th century by Count Otwin von Lurngau, the castle was originally conceived as a seat of justice (known as Suanapurc, then Sonnenburg in German).
It was Otwin’s son, Volkhold, who transformed the castle into the first Benedictine convent for women in historic Tyrol. From this turning point, Castel Badia emerged as a spiritual and cultural centre for the surrounding valleys, playing a vital role throughout the Middle Ages.
What took shape here was never a simple convent. The abbey was led by educated, independent abbesses—women deeply engaged with the world beyond its walls. Among them was Maria Antonietta Mörlin, whose distinctive signature, MAMA, can still be seen on the castle walls today, and Verena von Stuben, who in the fifteenth century fiercely defended the convent’s autonomy during conflicts with the bishopric.
After the devastating fire of 1598 and centuries of change, the convent was finally dissolved in 1785. The halls fell silent, nature slowly reclaimed its space, and history lingered as an echo.
In 1965, local entrepreneur Karl Knötig brought the castle back to life, transforming it into a hotel—a natural choice for a place that, over the centuries, had already welcomed many lives. From December 2025, this calling enters a new chapter, led by Gunther Knötig in collaboration with the Gasser family, Kronplatz Holding and hotelier Aldo Melpignano. A high-end hospitality project that honours the destination’s history while reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens.
Every stone has been restored with care: from rediscovered frescoes and original plasterwork to preserved ruins and newly created museum spaces.
To walk through the castle is to step into a different experience of time.
And those who enter,
in their own way,
become part of its story.
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