Bischofstein Castle (Switzerland)

Bischofstein ruins
	Kennel, gate and tower (March 2010)
Creation time :	Mid 13th century
Castle type :	Höhenburg, ridge position
Conservation status:	extensive, preserved wall remains
Construction:	Stone construction
Place:	Sissach
Geographical location	47 ° 28 '28.7 " N , 7 ° 49' 37.3" E Coordinates: 47 ° 28 '28.7 " N , 7 ° 49' 37.3" E ; CH1903: 629280 / two hundred and fifty-eight thousand two hundred eighty
Height:	698 m above sea level M.

The Bischofstein is the ruin of a medieval ridge castle in the Ergolztal in the Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft .

location

To the north of Sissach (on the municipal boundary between Sissach and Böckten ) lies the Bischofstein ruins in the immediate vicinity (100 meters north) of the Itkon ruins at 698 m above sea level. M. on the ridge of the Chienberg. The ruin can be easily reached from Sissach or the Sissacherfluh on hiking and footpaths.

investment

Bischofstein Castle was built along a vertical rock fall, which forms a natural protection for the fortress in the northwest. The other sides were separated from the surrounding area by a deep trench system .

Two construction phases can be distinguished:

The original castle : The Bering follows the irregular course of the rock head. While it is only very weak above the rockfall, it is over one and a half meters thick above the trench. The original access was from the northeast from the ditch via a ramp (remains of the gate system can still be seen on the inside of the circular wall). The gate was (as is usually the case in this region) in the form of a sturdy door. The complex was and is dominated by a round keep with a wall thickness of 2 meters 30 and a clear width of only around 3 meters.

Keep and building of the original castle (March 2010)

The original height and coverage is uncertain, Horand assumes that it was up to 20 meters high and could have carried a conical roof. The buildings between the curtain wall and the keep were made of stone and their function could be partially determined. So there was a great hall with two rooms south-west of the keep - each with a level access from the courtyard. The northern room of the hall even had a cellar. The upper windows of the palace were built with pointed arched row windows made of red sandstone - a sign of prosperity: These window frames , found in the rubble of the ruins, were inserted into the restored parts of the wall as objects of illustration (not in the original place). According to Horand's assumptions, the stone buildings in the southern part of the castle were used as stables (below) and residential buildings (above). In the northern part of the castle courtyard, the filter cistern was installed, which was probably fed from the roof water of the surrounding buildings (stone and wooden structures).

Bering, inner gate and behind it newer kennel (March 2010)

Extension : A protected filter cistern and a new, outer gate system with a kennel were added to the west and south of the system. During this expansion phase, an inner gate was knocked out in the original, southern Bering (passage from the Zwinger to the castle courtyard) and the old gate was bricked up.

The gentlemen of Eptingen were able to enjoy a lifestyle that was quite comfortable for the time: the many well-preserved stove tiles found (glazed and unglazed versions) indicate several stoves, the windows were partly glazed (panes with lead rods). The many iron parts, an almost complete brass pan and even a bronze painting lock point to considerable wealth.

When the fortress was built, not only was the fresh material from the neck trenches used, but it can also be assumed that the Itkon ruin immediately next to it - which was already falling apart at the time - was also used as a building material supplier.

history

After the von Itkon family died out, the Lords of Eptingen took over or inherited their property in the Chienberg area and built Bischofstein Castle around 1250. As was common at the time, the castle - to ensure better protection - was handed over to a sovereign (in this case to the Bishop of Basel) and received back as a fief (first evidence: 1311 Ulrich von Bischofstein): the name was even given here chosen according to the fortress in order to make this transmission and the resulting protection visible.

Bischofstein Castle appears to have been damaged in the Basel earthquake in 1356 . Older reports speak of a repair and use of the castle until the 15th century, but according to Meyer this assumption seems to result from an incorrect dating of the finds: glass finds were dated too young by the excavators in 1937/38. So it can be assumed that the Eptingians did not give this fortress any priority in the repair work and let it fall apart.

In the middle of the 15th century, the Eptinger Bischofstein sold to the Basler Ministeriale, the Lords of Rhine and already on November 15, 1464 sold these Bischofstein to Wernher Truchsess von Rheinfelden and Peter Offenburg von Basel . Shortly afterwards, the Rheinfelden Truchsessen gave up their property and the Offenburg residents remained the sole owners for around 100 years. On January 24th, 1560, the ruin with the associated goods and rights (the ruins themselves were hardly interesting, but the goods and rights were very much) to the city of Basel, which assigned them to the Farnsburg Office for administration.

Unfortunately, treasure hunts were repeatedly carried out on Bischofstein, which destroyed archaeologically interesting finds. A first excavation, motivated by historical interest, was carried out in 1914/16 and unearthed the first wall sections and part of the keep. The resulting interest resulted in a continuation of the excavation work in 1926 - thanks to financial support from the Sissach community. In 1937/38 the ruin was then completely excavated and restored for conservation purposes: This work also integrated the finds made earlier.

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. 87-88.
Felix Müller: The Bischofstein near Sissach, Canton Baselland . In: Basler Contributions to Prehistory and Early History, Volume 4, Habegger Verlag, Derendingen-Solothurn 1980.
Jakob Horand: The excavation of the medieval castle ruins of Bischofstein near Sissach . In: Baselbieter Heimatbuch, Volume 1, 1942, pp. 34-108.
Carl Roth: The castles and palaces of the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft . Part 1, delivery 4a, Birkhäuser, Basel 1932, p. 69 ff.

Web links

Commons : Bischofstein ruin - collection of images, videos and audio files

Burgenwelt: Burg Bischofstein