The Ghost Station of Miramare: Archduke Maximilian’s Stop to His Castle Home.

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By Alessandra Ressa

Few people know that the beautiful Miramare Castle in Trieste has its own railway stop.

A true jewel of Austrian colonial architecture, the tiny station of Miramare was built in the mid 1800s by Hapsburg Archduke Maximilian to connect his “home”, the impressive castle dominating the Gulf of Trieste, to the new, modern railway line that connected Trieste to the rest of the empire. Still   visible today at the underground floor of the station, at the bottom of a beautiful stone staircase, the ill fated Austrian ruler had his own personal parking spot for carriages.

At a time when railways were mainly built for economic purposes, and people mostly traveled with a horse and carriage, Trieste could already claim to possess an efficient railroad network that allowed cargo and passengers to travel most comfortably around the whole Austro-Hungarian empire.

The tiny station still stands today in all its charme, in a somewhat neglected athmosphere of abandonment. It is almost a ghost station. Very few trains stop, with even fewer passengers hopping in and out. The structure is made of peeling painted wood and glass, and, after being vandalized several times, it has been renovated some years ago. On that occasion, a two centuries-old wisteria tree that covered the whole platform roof was cut down by the insensitive hands. It nevertheless preserves that irresistible appeal of times gone.

The indoor halls are now unaccessible (all offices inside have been closed for years) and you can only admire it from the outside, which is still more than worth a visit. Interestingly, the back side of the station is currently used as a private home.

You can reach the station from the north side of the Miramare Castle park (all the way up the hill) through a metal gate inside the park perimeter. Another way to visit it is from Strada Costiera, before the two tunnels, across the street from the red monument – symbol of Trieste, the halberd (often referred by locals as “the two-headed chicken”). Cross the Strada Costiera  and follow via Beirut,  a windy steep road that will take you all the way up to the station. Before you reach the station, via Beirut takes you across part of the International Center for Theoretical Physics with its modern, raw-cement buildings.

Here, scientists and luminaries from all over the world live and study. They are probably the only commuters left to use the sporadic trains that stop in Miramare. Of course, there are beautiful houses all around the station that belong to wealthy residents. It is known that well-off Triestini never use public transport, preferring to drive their own cars through cobbled two-way narrow steep lanes even when their destination is only fifty meters away. But just like the smarter scientists, you too can use a train to reach Miramare station by buying a ticket at Trieste Central (you can buy it on the train but it will cost more).   

After visiting the station, you can proceed to the Castle and its beautiful surroundings, or, if you feel particularly brave, you can go through the tunnel separating the two platforms, follow the crooked stairway up via Plinio and climb to the beautiful Karst village of Contovello through the naturalistic trail n.9, known as Strada dei Pescatori, Fishermen’s road (it’s not a road in the traditional sense, though, but a few kilometers of stairs and sandstone paths through the forest).

Do not confuse it with Sentiero dei Pescatori (Fishermen’s trail) which runs further away along the coast. Legend goes that Princess Charlotte, Maximilian’s wife, was very fond of it and used to often walk up and down in good weather. 

Be careful as the stairway to Contovello is at least three centuries old, long and steep.  Make sure to have plenty of water and rubber-soled shoes as it can be very slippery on rainy days.

The Fishermen’s road will take you through the luscious woods all the way to the Contovello pond. Do not miss Contovello village, it is probably the most beautiful and well-preserved village in the Trieste Karst with breathtaking views over the Adriatic sea. In Contovello there are several buses that will take you back to Piazza Oberdan.