Castel Juval

Juval – the name comes from the Latin name of the mountain, Mons Jovis, the antique way of describing dome shaped rocky formations that were situated on important connection routes. Juval Castle stands on an amazing cliff above Naturno at ca. 1000 m. A medieval castle with a Romanic core that was first mentioned in 1278 when it was owned by Hugo von Montalban.

The castle was probably built thirty years prior. After having been property of several different owners the castle was bought by the Sinkmoser family, during that period the castle was at its utmost beauty. The castle was then owned by the Hendle dynasty who gave it up in 1813 to the farmer Josef Blaas and that was how it then fell into ruins. A dutch coloniser, William Rawland bought it and renovated it completely. Since 1983 the castle has been home to the famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner, during the summer, where he opened one of his five Messner Mountain Museums open to the public during the rest of the year. The castle also counts a cellar, an organic farm and a basement.