"Tyrolese Architecture 
of Vorst, the castle’s later proprietors were 
innumerable. After short terms of posses¬ 
sion it was passed as fief or dowry from one 
owner to another until the record of its lords 
becomes a mere calendar of Teutonic names. 
In 1803 it was partially ruined by fire, but 
it has since been completely restored in its 
ancient form and is now open to visitors. 
The heavy walls and the huge tower belong¬ 
ing to the original fortress are deeply im¬ 
pressive. The courtyard, surrounded as it 
is by corbeled galleries ornamented with a 
rude surface decoration, leads one fully into 
the spirit of the past. The present owner 
has placed in the castle an interesting collec¬ 
tion of local art which absorbs the visitor as 
he wanders through the rooms, now and 
again catching a view from a window ot the 
valley of Meran. 
In this same valley, Castle Schwanburg 
is situated, a very fair example of the 
plastered wall type of Tyrolese building. 
Entering by a gateway one finds oneself in 
a rambling and irregular courtyard with inter¬ 
esting details. On two opposite sides a 
graceful second-story colonnade is supported 
by the wide low arches of a ground story. The 
light proportions of the upper arches are 
truly southern ; the ceiling of the gallery is 
vaulted and the columns are sustained by iron 
rods, as was done in Italy. By a stairway 
on the right one ascends to the chapel. Over 
the doorway at the head of the steps is a 
bay window, rectangular in plan, and with pe¬ 
culiar supporting corbels, which is extremely 
characteristic of Tyrolese architecture. The 
exact date of the founding of this castle is un¬ 
certain, but local records tell of a change in its 
ownership as early as the year 1500. Com¬ 
pared with Vorst and the ancient Runkelstein 
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