History
Among the quiet peaks of the Dolomites lies a place that has never quite belonged to the ordinary.
A long sheet of raw linen, a story handwritten by time across the centuries, the identity of a place that was never quite like any other.
Built in the 11th century at the will of Count Otwin von Lurngau, Castel Badia (Sonnenburg in German, literally “castle of the sun”, though originally conceived as the “fortress of judgment”) has, since the Middle Ages, held a deep influence over the surrounding valleys.
It was Otwin’s son, Volkhold, who transformed it into a Benedictine convent, the first female monastery in the historic Tyrol.
Yet what arose was far more than a simple abbey: it was guided by educated and independent abbesses, devoted to freedom and dialogue with the world. Among them, Verena von Stuben, a remarkable 15th-century abess, who defended the convent’s autonomy and led it with resolve during conflicts with the bishopric.
After a fire in 1598 and centuries of change, the monastery was dissolved in 1785. Silence once again filled its halls, ivy crept over its walls, and history turned to echo.
But some stories never truly end.
Today, Castel Badia lives again, reviving the ancient spirit of the place and transforming into a fortified refuge where modern life quietly blends with memory. Every stone has been restored with care: from rediscovered frescoes to original plasterwork, from preserved ruins to new museum spaces.
To walk through the castle is to step into another dimension of time.
And those who enter, in their own way, become part of its story.