Triest Trst Trieszt Trieste Tourism Informations and city Portal

The castle’s interior is extremely luxurious with rooms of many different styles. Maximilian’s love of the sea (he was vice admiral of the Austrian navy) inspired him to decorate the castle with nautical themes. Max was a typical Victorian romantic and intellectual.

The inside

The inside of the building is furnished with original furniture of that epoch in the representative rooms and in the apartments of the married couple: one made of wood of the Archduke, who strangely had reproduced the well-proportioned stern of the Austrian ship Novara, in memory of his time spent as Commander of the Austrian fleet; and that of Charlotte where the colour of light blue is in domain.

A Visitors to the castle will be able to see the following: Maximilian's chambers and those of his consort, Carlota of Belgium; the guest rooms; the information room telling the history of the Castle and the Park's construction; the Duke Amadeo of Aosta's apartment with furnishings from the 1930's in the Rationalist style.

All the rooms still feature the original furnishings, ornaments, furniture and objects dating back to the middle of the 19th century. Particularly noteworthy are the music room where Carlota used to play the fortepiano, now on show in room VII. In room XIX there are a series of paintings by Cesare dell'Acqua depicting the history of Miramare.

Lastly, visitors may visit the throne room, which was recently restored and brought back to its former splendour.

The castle is preserved in its original condition and reflections of Maximilian's love of the sea are everywhere. His wood paneled bedroom on the first floor was built to resemble the cabin of a ship and a glance from the window of any of the second floor rooms provides a spectacular view over the Bay of Grignano and the Adriatic beyond. His love for exotic places is displayed in the Chinese and Japanese salon. As you stand at the base of the circular staircase, if you look up, there is a glass-bottomed fishpond.

As I wandered from room to room, I read a tale of insecure power in the castle's interior-design survey of history: the medieval stone walls, the heavy Baroque and neo-Renaissance furniture. This is Second Empire bombast, persuading itself of its legitimacy, dismissing the elegant restraint of Biedermeier.

The "Monarchs' Salon", is embellished with portraits of a King of Norway, the Emperor of Brazil, a Czar of Russia – anyone, no matter how fraudulent or despotic, as long as they're nominal monarchs. This softens you up for the bedroom and its images of the most important events in the history of this area, pride of place going to the construction of the castle, of course. Other rooms are paneled and furnished like a ship's quarters, reflecting Maximilian's devotion to the Austrian Navy.