Castels Castle

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Castels Castle
Castels ruin

Castels ruin

Alternative name (s): Putzerburg
Creation time : 13th Century
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Plaster
Geographical location 46 ° 55 '29 "  N , 9 ° 44' 42"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 55 '29 "  N , 9 ° 44' 42"  E ; CH1903:  775,635  /  one hundred ninety-nine thousand six hundred fifty-one
Height: 1065  m above sea level M.
Castels Castle (Canton of Graubünden)
Castels Castle

The castle of Castels or Putzerburg is the ruin of a hilltop castle near the village of Putz in the municipality of Luzein in Prättigau in the Swiss canton of Graubünden .

Surname

Here the name is only apparently in direct relation to the feudal castle, but goes back to an older Rhaeto-Romanic name of a people's castle , which was adopted by the German-speaking builders or owners. This is reflected in documents from the 14th and 15th centuries: 1344: … the manne Ulrichen von Kastels , 1352: in his court called zu Castels , 1496: the vesten or Geslos Castel and 1496 sloss Castel . The former Rhaeto-Romanic population apparently found the doubling of the “Burg zu Castels” annoying and named the complex “Castelg da Putz” after the nearby settlement. Ulrich Campell reported about 1573 : « … viculus Puotz dictus… quae Raetis inde antiquitus vocatur ils Castelg da Puntz, id est Castellum Putiense, Germanice loquentes dicunt Castels. »

investment

Plant plan

The facility is located at 1065  m above sea level. M. on a ledge that drops perpendicular to the Landquart to the south . Several wall joints show that the castle was built in several phases. The complex was protected to the east and west by steep slopes and to the north by a ditch-like depression. A circular wall follows the edge of the terrain. On the north wall there are remains of a show created in the 16th or 17th century battlements with battlements and loopholes for small arms. Today's entrance gate was broken into later and reinforced with a barbican with notches, remains of which have been preserved. The original access was probably on the west side, where a narrow ledge of rock leads around the curtain wall. When the gate was being laid, the ledge was cordoned off by a traverse.

A narrow kennel stretched from the present entrance to the south-east corner , the outer wall of which was equipped with notches and a shell tower . In the north-west corner there is a free-standing keep with a side length of approx. 8.5 m and a wall thickness of 2 m. It is separated from the Bering by a 2 m wide corridor. The corner connections are carefully executed with bossed cuboids. Remains of smooth plaster from the 16th century can be seen on the tower. Four storeys are verifiable; the high entrance was on the west side on the 2nd floor and was accessible via a wooden construction between the wall and the tower.

Only a few traces of the rest of the complex have survived. In the west and south-west there are remains of the main wing leaning against the wall. According to an inventory from 1616, it contained the following rooms: a large room with paintings, boxes, wall table and Italian leather armchairs, on one side a bedroom, on the other a "parlor". On the same floor there was a "hall", which, however, served as a bedroom and a small chamber. On the other side, separated by a hall, lay a room, a chamber, plus the kitchen and a chapel. Below this floor was the basement with vaulted rooms, the grain and wine store, the butcher's and the servants' room.

There was a well in the courtyard that was fed by a supply line. A storehouse, a bathing room and a laundry oven and a pigsty stood nearby. The location of these buildings can no longer be determined without excavations. The tower was used as a prison and an arsenal in the 17th century. Below was a dungeon with handcuffs and ankle cuffs and a hoist with a new rope, from which the prisoners were let up and down .

  • Access, the remains of the barbican on the left

  • East side of the tower

  • Southeast corner

  • South side of the tower

  • Entrance area

  • North wall

history

Castels Castle in the background, Strahlegg Castle in front , before 1799

There are no documents about the construction of the castle. It is conceivable that it is a refuge, possibly also a church fort from the early Middle Ages, which was converted into a feudal castle in the 13th century. The tower was built around 1200, the oldest parts of the Bering are likely from the 13th century, extensions were made into the 16th and 17th centuries. A noble family «von Castels» is not proven. In the 14th century Castels belonged to the Prättigau domain of Ulrich von Aspermont . How the castle came into his possession is not clear. His heirs sold the castle and goods at Castels in 1338 to Friedrich von Toggenburg and Ulrich von Matsch . In 1344 the two buyers shared the property, with the castle falling to the mud.

In 1394, Castels was owned by the Toggenburgs, but Count Friedrich issued a certificate from Castell in vnsrer vesty . After the Toggenburg's death in 1436, Castels came back to the mud; In 1446 there is talk of interest that was to be paid to Ulrich von Matsch towards Castels zuo vnser vesti . The castle and court of Castels served several times as pledge for debts of Gaudenz von Matsch , who temporarily lived in the castle. In 1496 he sold the complex to the Roman-German King Maximilian I. During the Swabian War , the castle was captured by the Graubünden on February 16 or 17, 1499, but returned to the Austrians after the peace agreement; In any case, in November 1499 there was again an Austrian bailiff at Castels, Hans Schuler from Davos.

In the 16th century, Castels was the administrative center of Austrian law in the Prättigau. In 1622 the castle was besieged by the Grisons. After the water supply was interrupted, the castle surrendered on April 25 and was partially destroyed. It was recaptured by Count Sulz in September. In the Lindau Peace of September 6, 1622, it was determined that the people of Graubünden would rebuild the castle and pay for the damage. It is unclear whether this actually happened. In 1649 the people of Prättigau bought their way from Austria. Castels Castle was destroyed by the Graubünden people and has been in ruins ever since.

literature

  • Florian Hitz: princes, bailiffs and communities . Haldenstein, 2012, ISBN 978-3-03919-249-6
  • Otto P. Clavadetscher, Werner Meyer : The castle book of Graubünden . Zurich 1984, ISBN 3-280-01319-4
  • Castle map of Switzerland , Federal Office of Topography, 2007 edition
  • Anton von Castelmur: The castles and palaces of the Canton of Graubünden , Volume I, Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel 1940
  • Werner Meyer: Castles of Switzerland. Volume 3 . Silva-Verlag , Zurich, 1983

Web links

Commons : Burg Castels  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Boxler, The naming of castles in northeastern Switzerland and in Graubünden ; P. 70