Castel Badìa - Sonnenburg

In 1022 Count Volkhold obtained, after the death of his brother-in-law Aribo, the “Suanapurc” castle. Volkhold gave the entire castle and land to the nuns of the order of the Benedictines so they could build a monastery. The daughter of Aribo and his spouse, Wichburg di Castel Badìa, became its first abbess. For about 800 years the Benedictine nuns of Castel Badia were the owners of the Val della Gàdera land. The fighting spirit of these nuns was renowned. The bitter disagreements between the Bishop of Bressanone, Nicola Cusano and Verena von Stuben the Abbess of Castel Badia remained in history. Armies were even put in place for the defence of both sides. In 1785 the monastery was shut down and the castle slowly ended up in ruins. Only part of the building, the church and the convent survived. What had survived of the structure was used over the years for various purposes until, in 1974, it was refurbished and converted into a hotel.