Alt-Falkenstein Castle (Balsthal)
| Alt-Falkenstein Castle | ||
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 The south facade of Alt-Falkenstein Castle |
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| Creation time : | around 1250 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | partially preserved | |
| Standing position : | Nobility, counts | |
| Place: | Balsthal | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 18 '25 .3 " N , 7 ° 41' 26.3" O | |
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The Castle Alt-Falkenstein is a partially preserved hill fort at the entrance of Klus in Balsthal in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland .
The bishop of Basel, Burkhard von Fenis , had received lands from Emperor Heinrich IV for his loyalty during the investiture dispute . This included the Landgraviate of Buchsgau . To guard the border of his new territory, he had a castle built on a rock in the Jura -Quertal ("Klus") in the direction of Balsthal , inhabited by his vassals , the Count of Falkenstein . Rudolf I. von Falkenstein (mentioned from 1224 to 1251) comes into question as the builder, and the construction period around 1250. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1255.
After various changes of ownership, the castle was sold to the city of Solothurn by the impoverished landed gentry at the beginning of the 15th century . The patricians there expanded the castle and used it as the seat of their bailiwicks in the following centuries .
Today the complex houses a local museum.
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. 190–191.
