Castle Katzenstein, Medieval castle in Merano, Italy

Castle Katzenstein, locally also called Schloss Katzenstein, is a hillside castle at about 465 m above sea level on the slopes of the Tschögglberg above Merano, in the locality of Freiberg just below the Fragsburg. Its core is a low square keep enclosed by the rectangular residential palas, with a chapel vaulted with groin vaults and a zwinger. The round-arched gate of rusticated Renaissance ashlars bears the year 1553.

First mentioned in 1258 as the seat of the lords of Katzenstein, the castle stayed with that family until their male line died out in 1450. Diepold von Katzenstein served as counsellor to Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg in 1355 and as land judge of Gries in 1357. Michael Katzböck had the castle largely rebuilt in 1580, and Franz Huber carried out extensive renovations around 1860.

The castle's name comes from the Katzenstein family, first documented in 1258 with Conrad von Katzenstein. Inside, a hall is furnished with furniture and paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries. The building is a private residence and cannot be visited.

Castle Katzenstein is a private residence and cannot be visited; the interior with its 16th- and 17th-century furniture and paintings is closed to the public. It stands at about 465 m on the slopes of the Tschögglberg in the locality of Freiberg, a little below the Fragsburg above Merano. The building can therefore only be viewed from outside, on foot along the paths of the surrounding slopes.

The castle is a private residence and cannot be visited; the Innerhofer-Wegleiter family has owned it since Anton Innerhofer, its owner until his death in 2018, bought it from the Menz family in 1975. The round-arched gate of rusticated Renaissance ashlar blocks bears the year 1553.