Mira Mare: a castle with the most beautiful name

If I were Bill Gates or Elon Musk, I would build a castle in this very place. The Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian had a similar opinion when he built this castle in 1860…

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Legend has it that he found himself in this place after a shipwreck and wanted to build a house here for himself and his wife Charlotte of Belgium.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The castle is located in the most beautiful place in the large Trieste Bay, 9 km from the town of the same name, and you cannot miss it when you arrive by boat.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


I am not so lucky, like most, I came by car. You have to leave them outside the driveway gate and walk the rest of the way.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The road is flat, the climb is not big and wheelchair users will easily overcome it.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Besides, the road goes by the sea.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Covered with trees, it announces the beauty you will be exposed to.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Once you climb up to the castle, you have two options.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The first is to enter the castle immediately, and the second is to visit the surroundings before entering.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The walk through the park is free, and the entrance to the castle is paid. The entrance fee is €12.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Considering that the castle was built at the beginning of the 20th century, I did not expect much from the visit, in terms of accessibility.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


I got ready to enjoy the garden, which extends over 22 hectares and into which Maximilian invested a lot of effort, bringing plants from various parts of the world.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


However, when you are greeted by a welcome ramp like this, then all doubts disappear and you know that this is going to be a great experience.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


In this two-story castle, there is an elevator big enough to fit a wheelchair, and they also have their own, which they kindly offered me.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Tip: come as late as possible, it will be less crowded, both for tickets and for taking pictures.

The castle was built by Karl Junker, an architect who built waterworks and aqueducts before this. It can’t be said that he did a bad job when a staircase like this welcomes you as a prelude to what’s to come.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Furniture, tapestries, ceilings, vases, every detail was thought of.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Franz Joseph and his wife Sissy, Queen Elisabeth and many other noble heads came here as guests.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Franz Ferdinand also stayed here, two months before the assassination. There is a legend attached to the castle that it is haunted and that an evil fate awaits anyone who spends the night here. I didn’t check.

Archduke Maximilian was above all a sailor, which can be sensed in some rooms.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Even kings go to this room on foot.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


A royal bed goes hand in hand with a royal throne.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The walk through the castle is very intense, because there are a lot of details to pay attention to.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The castle has escaped the evil fate of some others, so the furniture is completely original.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Wheelchairs can easily move through the castle.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


There is also a small chapel in the castle.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Archduke Maximilian did not get to enjoy this beauty. Shortly after the completion of construction, he was called to report for duty and sail to Mexico with his wife.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


He did not have a happy fate there, he was killed by Mexican rebels when he was only 35 years old.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Charlotte returned to the castle to grieve. It was recorded that she soon lost her mind and was taken away from here permanently.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


By the way, the castle got its name from a similar one in Portugal and from the expression Mirar el mar, i.e. a view of the sea.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


And indeed, from whichever window or vantage point you take a look, the view is spectacular.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The passage through the terrace is wide enough for my wheelchair.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The view of the Bay of Trieste is incredible.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


Although I expected to spend time in the garden, and the castle would remain inaccessible, it turned out the other way around.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


One part is under the stairs, and there are small gravel on the paths, so I couldn’t really look into all of this spectacular garden.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


However, when you see plants from Brazil, Mexico, and Lebanon in one place, it is clear to you that the owner has made the most of this garden. Although he didn’t get to enjoy it, his vision remains for the rest of us to admire.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


The visit, which I highly recommend to everyone, should be planned in the spring or early autumn, because it can be hot.

I was there in May and this scene awaited me from the terrace – jellyfish.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog


If I had to choose an absolute must when you are in the area, it would be a visit to Miramare Castle.

The name explains everything.

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Mira Mare Trieste Italy Travel Blog

 

Have you been to Mira Mare Castle?

Did I miss something?

 

Traveled and enjoyed,

Marko Veličković

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