Castle Brandis, Castle ruin in Lana, Italy.

Castle Brandis is a castle ruin in Lana that sits on a hillside overlooking the valley with exposed stone walls. The site still shows the outlines of medieval living spaces and defensive passages that give a sense of how the structure originally looked.

The castle was built in the 1200s as a fortified position to monitor trade routes passing through the valley. After centuries of neglect, only the stonework remains standing today.

The castle has stayed in the hands of the Brandis counts for over 800 years, who also own nearby Castel Leone. The chapel, built around 1500 and dedicated to the Fourteen Holy Helpers, was consecrated in 1617 by the Bishop of Chur and once supported endowed Masses, including twelve monthly in honour of St John Nepomuk.

The ruin stands on a small rise on the right side of the valley above Niederlana, in the municipality of Lana. It is privately owned by the Counts of Brandis and cannot be visited without permission, so the grounds are viewed only from outside.

The keep once had six floors, but only the lower ones were lived in, as the surviving Romanesque trifora windows show. A spiral staircase is set into the thickness of the wall at one corner, and a round-arched window remains in the masonry.