Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens

The gardens were initially laid out circa 1850 by Count Joseph von Trauttmansdorff (1788-1870) during the castle's restoration. Empress Elisabeth of Austria was a frequent visitor to Meran and the gardens. A bronze bust in her memory was placed in the gardens after her assassination in Geneva in 1898.

After being used for other purposes the original gardens disappeared. Between 1994 and 2001, a completely new garden was planted around the castle. In 2001 the new Trauttmansdorff botanical gardens were opened to public.[1]

Today, the castle grounds contain about 80 dedicated gardens with local and exotic plants, organized by region of origin, including typical landscapes of South Tyrol. Principal features of interest include:

• Forests of the world – conifers and deciduous trees from the Americas and Asia.
• Oleander Steps – flowering oleander, an ancient olive tree, etc.
• Sun Gardens – cultivated plants of the Mediterranean, including cypress, figs, grapevines, lavender, and Italy's northernmost olive grove.
• Water and Terraced Gardens – various gardens, including a formal Italian garden, English garden, and sensual garden.
• The landscapes of South Tyrol – testimony of the ancient vegetation of the Valle dell'Adige.

The gardens also contain Aesculapian Snakes in their natural habitat, courtesy of the Alpine Zoo of Innsbruck, an aviary, a Japanese alluvial forest, rice terraces, and tea plantations.

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  Rice terraces in the Sun Gardens
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  View of the fountain
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  A collection of succulent plants in the Water and Terraced Gardens
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  Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule) field
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  View of the gardens
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  Bronze bust of Empress Elisabeth, who was a frequent visitor

• Grandi Giardini Italiani
• List of botanical gardens in Italy

• Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle
• BGCI entry
• Udo Bernhart, Ulrike Dubis, Trauttmansdorff - Die Gärten / Giardini / The Gardens, BLV Buchverlag GmbH & Co, 2006. ISBN 3-8354-0263-3.

Media related to Botanical gardens in Merano at Wikimedia Commons

• Homepage of the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle