Follow in the footsteps of Sissi, the Empress Elizabeth, by visiting this beautiful mansion and garden. Empress Sissi of Austria-Hungary stayed at the Trauttmansdorff Castle for the first time in October 1870, to spend the winter months in the particular Merano climate. She brought two daughters with her, Gisela and Marie Valerie. The beautiful rooms on the castle’s top floor were adorned with stunning frescoes on her arrival. The newspapers in Vienna excitedly wrote about the stay of the Empress on the southern side of the Alps. This was the origin of Merano’s popularity as a health resort. Later, in September 1889, the Empress resided at the castle for a second time. The rooms where the Empress stayed are now part of the Tourism Museum, open to visitors.