“Playcastle” is like an American Disney castle, a castle as if made out of cardboard. The mountain it stands on was once a fortress mountain, in Seefeld in Tirol. Since it was built it has even had its own train station which has been closed in the meantime. At the moment the castle functions in a miniature variant – there are only a few poorly inflated bouncy castles and a coffee house. In the summer entrance costs 4 euros (including a free cup of coffee) and in the winter entrance is free of charge. In the video “Play Castle” one sees deserted rooms which are supposed to imitate a medieval castle. The modern addition as well as the underground halls were… [More]
Editing, Montage: Juma Hauser
“Playcastle” is like an American Disney castle, a castle as if made out of cardboard. The mountain it stands on was once a fortress mountain, in Seefeld in Tirol. Since it was built it has even had its own train station which has been closed in the meantime. At the moment the castle functions in a miniature variant – there are only a few poorly inflated bouncy castles and a coffee house. In the summer entrance costs 4 euros (including a free cup of coffee) and in the winter entrance is free of charge. In the video “Play Castle” one sees deserted rooms which are supposed to imitate a medieval castle. The modern addition as well as the underground halls were constructed for all-season activities geared to staging all manner of brandname goods. A found 3-D video, which served as a wish machine for advertising purposes prior to the completion of Play Castle, is juxtaposed with the empty stage. This combination of failure and utopia is reflected in the montage of the video and recalls a not completely functional computer game. One no longer knows what is happening, and loses every feeling for space and time. There is a huge rift between the ideal vision and what the Play Castle actually stands for today.
