Homburg ruins

Homburg ruins
	Homburg ruins
Creation time :	1240
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	ruin
Standing position :	Count
Place:	Laufelfingen
Geographical location	47 ° 24 '10.5 " N , 7 ° 51' 18" E Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '10.5 " N , 7 ° 51' 18" E ; CH1903: six hundred thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty / 250316
Height:	650 m above sea level M.

The Homburg ruins , also known as Neu-Homberg, are located in the Swiss municipality of Läufelfingen in the canton of Basel-Landschaft .

location

The ruins of the hilltop castle are located at 650 m above sea level. M. above the narrowest point of the Homburg Valley named after her. From the SBB stations Buckten and Läufelfingen as well as Bad Ramsach you can walk to it in about 30 minutes. The paths are signposted in yellow. From the observation deck of the residential tower you have a view of the surrounding Jura heights.

history

The castle was built in 1240 by Count Hermann IV von Frohburg . He called her Neu-Homberg and took over the name of Homberg from his wife, the heir to the Counts of (Alt-) Homberg in the Fricktal, a branch of the Counts of Thierstein . In 1303 the castle and the surrounding villages were sold to the Bishop of Basel . In 1400 it became the property of the city of Basel and for the next 400 years served as the seat of the bailiffs who administered the Homburg district on their behalf. Due to border conflicts with neighboring Solothurn residents in the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle complex was expanded and strengthened. In 1798, Basel gave up the castle - or the palace, as it was now called - as the residence of the governor. After everything that was still usable had been cleared out and auctioned, the villagers set fire to the hated castle on the night of January 23-24, 1798. The spirit of the French Revolution had turned the population against the authorities in this country too. The fire ruin was subsequently used as a quarry and was falling apart. Private restoration work was carried out for the first time in the 1930s. The canton of Basel-Landschaft took over Homburg in 1941 and has been maintaining it ever since. In 2008–2010, the facility was subjected to a thorough historical examination and restoration.

Viewing platform

Homburg ruins viewing platform

Basic data

Place:

Laufelfingen

Canton:

Basel-Country

Country:

Switzerland

Altitude :

650 m

Coordinates :

631444 / 250327

Use:

Observation tower , observation deck

Accessibility:

Observation tower open to the public

Tower data

Construction time :

First half of the 14th century

Client :	Bishop of Basel
Building material :	stone

Total height :

10.00 m

Viewing platform:

8.50 m

Further data

Number of steps:

43 steps

43 steps lead to the viewing platform at a height of 8.5 meters.

From this platform you have a view of the villages of Läufelfingen and Buckten and various hills of the Basler Jura .

Lower stairs
Upper stairs
Viewing platform

investment

and display information about the image

Schematic representation of the Homburg, detail of an information board

The ruin, accessible at any time, consists of several parts of the building; Most impressive is the mighty, three-storey residential tower with walls up to three meters thick. The residential tower, the outbuildings, the ring wall and the gates give an idea of how imposing the complex used to be.

literature

Werner Meyer : Castles from A to Z - Burgenlexikon der Regio . Published by the Castle Friends of both Basels on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. Klingental printing works, Basel 1981, pp. 109–111.