Forstegg Castle

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Forstegg Castle
Forstegg after Merian 1630

Forstegg after Merian 1630

Alternative name (s): Forsteck
Creation time : around 1200
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Baroness
Place: Sennwald
Geographical location 47 ° 14 '44 "  N , 9 ° 29' 45"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 14 '44 "  N , 9 ° 29' 45"  E ; CH1903:  755.73 thousand  /  234,779
Height: 460  m above sea level M.
Forstegg Castle (Canton of St. Gallen)
Forstegg Castle

The ruins of Forstegg Castle are located in the municipality of Sennwald in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen in the Salez district. It was built around 1200 by the Barons von Sax and gradually fell into ruins in the 19th century until 1894.

location

The hilltop castle is located on a small hill on the edge of the castle forest in the Rhine Valley at approx. 460 m. ü. M. in the rubble cone of a post-glacial landslide. The tower was built on a 10 m high boulder.

history

Forstegg Castle was built by Heinrich von Sax at the same time as Hohensax Castle to secure his possessions in the Rhine Valley. During the division of power in 1248, the castle came to Ulrich II von Sax, who founded the Sax-Hohensax sideline. Its share disintegrated due to the division of inheritance, so that in the middle of the 14th century around Forstegg Castle, Ulrich IV. Stephan (1329-1381) formed a sideline Hohensax-Forstegg. In addition to Forstegg Castle, their rule included the villages of Büsmig, Frümsen, Haag and Salez. In 1396 Ulrich Eberhard IV also bought the village and court of Sennwald. While Hohensax and Frischenberg were conquered by the Appenzell people in 1446 as part of the Old Zurich War , Forstegg and his rule remained independent, as Ulrich Eberhard IV took a neutral position between Zurich, the Appenzell people and Austria.

In 1458, Albrecht I (1439–1463) of Sax-Forstegg got into a conflict with Austria and therefore leaned against the Swiss Confederation. After his death, his son Ulrich VII was accepted as a citizen of the city of St. Gallen , which pledged his rule to its citizen Lütfried Mötteli in 1466 . Having come of age, he redeemed the rule in 1481 with his booty from the Burgundian Wars and became a citizen of Zurich with her in 1486. In thanks for his services in the Swabian War, Ulrich VII received the rule of Frischenberg and the court of Lienz from the Confederation in 1499. 1585 was the castle, which had become the center of the barony Sax Forstegg to a new palace at the foot of the castle rock expanded (later Landvogthaus). However, the castle was hardly used by the barons and served as a prison.

In 1615, Friedrich Ludwig von Hohensax-Forstegg sold the manor and castle to the city of Zurich, which managed them as the Sax-Forstegg bailiff . The fortress builder Johannes Ardüser modernized the fortifications with star entrenchments and ditches in 1622-27 , so that Forstegg became a contemporary fortress. In 1625 Zurich set up a bailiff's seat in the Palas. In 1798 the castle came to the canton of Linth, 1803 to the canton of St. Gallen, which sold it in private ownership in 1819. The complex then fell into disrepair, and the fortifications were removed around 1870. In 1894 the hall burned down and was demolished. In 1941 Paul Aebi bought the castle and renovated the tower ruins by 1962. The castle is still privately owned today.

investment

Armory and tower ruins today

The core of the tower castle was a mighty tower with a hexagonal floor plan, which was built on a 10 m high boulder. The walls of the tower are 2.1 m thick. It had at least four floors right from the start. Little is known about the medieval complex. The hall was completely demolished after the fire in 1894. The armory from the 17th century (rebuilt in 1790) and a barn are still well preserved today . Around the facility, some remains of the circular walls and the ramparts from the 17th century have been preserved.

Web links

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