Hünenberg Castle
| Hünenberg Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Ruin of Hünenberg Castle |
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| Creation time : | First mentioned in 1173 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Hünenberg | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 10 '22.1 " N , 8 ° 25' 25.9" O | |
| Height: | 440 m above sea level M. | |
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The Hünenberg Castle is the ruins of a hilltop castle in the town of Hünenberg in the Canton train ( Switzerland ). It lies at 440 m above sea level. M. slightly southwest of the village of Hünenberg on a wooded hill between two streams.
history
Traces indicate a settlement around 1100. An earth / wood system with a ring wall made of stone formed the ancestral castle of the Knights of Hünenberg, who were first mentioned in writing in 1173. However, it is unclear whether this mention refers to the Zug gender or to members of a family from the Hegnau. The first representatives of the Zug family are mentioned in 1239 and 1240. In addition to the Hünenberg Fortress, the family also owned the castles of St. Andreas in Cham, Wildenburg in Baar and Zug Castle .
The first facility was destroyed by fire in the 12th century. After another fire in 1200 the castle was one in Megalithentechnik executed dungeon with a wall thickness of about 3 meters and a representative Palas. In the Battle of Sempach in 1386 the Hünenbergs fought on the side of Habsburg- Austria and Hünenberg Castle was destroyed after the defeat. When the Austrian rule collapsed in the following three decades, the Hünenberg family also lost power and prestige. In 1416, Rudolf von Hünenberg sold the crumbling castle, including the rulership rights, to the Bütler brothers from the village of Hünenberg. The keep stood upright until the 19th century.
excavation
It is thanks to the Cham farmer and cantonal judge Emil Villiger that the castle came to light again in 1944. He campaigned for the Hünenberg Corporation to acquire the castle hill from the Holzmann family. On May 22nd, 1944 Emil Villiger started the excavations with voluntary workers. The castle was excavated on September 22, 1945 and in 1961 it was placed under the protection of the Swiss Confederation.
Conservation measures and archaeological investigations were carried out between 2005 and 2009. In 2007 the keep was preserved. For this purpose, it was comprehensively documented and examined beforehand. Unfortunately, it had to be determined that the keep was hardly renovated during the excavations a good 60 years ago. However, a layer of mortar covering the entire boundary of the wall was discovered around one meter above the ground, on which a thin layer of coal lay. It is likely to be a construction stage boundary, presumably the damp mortar mass was covered with straw or twigs before the onset of winter. This made it possible to carry out radiocarbon dating (C14 dating) by taking two samples . This resulted in a C-14 date around the middle of the 13th century, which corresponds to the age of the tower, which was previously only typologically determined.
In recent excavations in 2006, Roman copper and silver coins from between 150 years before and 250 years after Christ were found. To protect the site, the discovery was only announced after the excavations were completed in 2007. A total of 68 coins were found, which were close together. The treasure consists more of small denominations, 24 of which were even halved. Only two silver coins were found. The value corresponds roughly to the weekly wage of a Roman legionnaire. The find is not a typical custody find, the denomination is too small for that, and the site is a topographically distinctive place. It is therefore assumed that these are votive offerings from a Roman sanctuary. The find has no direct connection with the medieval castle.
Web links and sources
Individual evidence
- ↑ GS No. 511 Event number canton archeology: 40.05 Literature: Tugium 23 , 2007 pages 33ff; Tugium 24 , 2008 pages 25-26, JbAS 90, 2007, page 188; Journal of the Swiss Castle Association 12, 2007 page 3 + 104ff.
- ↑ event number Kantonsärchäologie 40.02; Literature; Tugium 23 , 2007 pages 33ff, Tugium 24 , 2008 pages 26-27
