Reifenegg Castle Ruins

The castle ruin Reifenegg is located above the Gilfenklamm in the confluence area of the Ratschingstal into the Ridnauntal. It is situated in the municipality of Ratschings in the northern part of the Italian province of South Tyrol.

The castle was built by the bishops of Brixen and the lords Trautson, who were partly part of the Brixen nobility and partly of the Tyrolean nobility, between around 1210 and 1242. The castle was intended to control the route over the Jaufen Pass. The first vassal of the castle was Berthold Trautson the Elder in 1242, who referred to himself as de Riffeneke. His sons, Jakob and Dietmar, are mentioned in 1249, sharing the possession of Reifenegg, with half of Jakob's share later falling to the Rottenburgs, who also owned Castle Moos. As a new route for the Jaufen road was established in the 14th century, the significance of the castle complex declined.

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