Wehrburg

Castel Sant'Erasmo or Castel Wehrburg is a 13th-century castle located in Prissiano, a hamlet of the municipality of Tesimo in the autonomous province of Bolzano.

Built in the first half of the 13th century by the Wehrburgs, in 1300 the castle passed by marriage to the Murentheiners, a noble family from nearby Andrian. In 1353 it reverted to the Wehrburgs, who with Reinbrecht von Wehrburg and his consort Katharina von Greifenstein are attested again in 1355, but a little more than 50 years later, in 1411 it was again and finally conquered by the Murentheiners. The latter held it until 1798, when the family died out.

From then on and for about a century it remained in a state of substantial neglect until it was purchased and renovated by Albert von Eperjessey, Austrungarian ambassador to Iran. It then passed to the Rudston Browns.

In 1957 the castle was purchased by an hotelier and converted into a hotel.

The Italian name, imposed during Fascism, is due to the chapel dedicated to St. Erasmus, erected in the 15th century and renovated two centuries later.