Kropfenstein Castle

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Kropfenstein Castle
Kropfenstein ruin

Kropfenstein ruin

Alternative name (s): Casti Grotta
Creation time : 1312
Castle type : Höhenburg, cave castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Unknown assignment
Place: Waltensburg / Vuorz
Geographical location 46 ° 46 '10 "  N , 9 ° 6' 4"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 46 '10 "  N , 9 ° 6' 4"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and twenty-six thousand nine hundred seventy-six  /  181 152
Height: 1130  m above sea level M.
Kropfenstein Castle (Canton of Graubünden)
Kropfenstein Castle
Coat of arms of the Lords of Kropfenstein
Plant plan

The ruins of Kropfenstein Castle are located near Waltensburg / Vuorz (municipality of Breil / Brigels ) in the Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . Along with Jörgenberg , Grünenfels and Vogelberg, Kropfenstein was one of the original four castles in Waltensburg.

location

The remains of the cave castle are at 1130  m above sea level. M. west of the village of Waltensburg on the edge of a vertically sloping rock face and can be easily reached on foot from the western end of Waltensburg in about a quarter of an hour.

Surname

All documents from the Middle Ages are in Kropfenstein in different spellings: 1335 Crophenstain , 1342 Kropfenstain , 1343 Krophenstain and others. With Ulrich Campell it appears as a cropfastenium . This mention shows that the name of the castle contains the word «goiter» (outgrowth, growth), which refers to the castle itself, which sticks like an overgrowth on the vertically sloping rock face. The transformation to the Rhaeto-Romanic castì grotta (cave castle) is of more recent origin and goes back to the Romanesque grotta (cave, grotto).

investment

Access to the three-storey, elongated walls is only possible via a steep, narrow path from the east, which was widened during restoration in the 1950s and secured by railings. The project was initiated and financed by Paul Gabriel, a citizen of Waltensburg who emigrated to Canada.

According to dendrochronological studies, the system dates from the beginning of the 14th century; A year of 1312 is mentioned. There are no indications of a previous building.

The inner wall and parts of the roof are formed by the overhanging rock. The beam bearings of the earlier access can still be seen today. The facility is entered through a low entrance gate. A square window and a shooting hatch are let into the wall above the gate. The eastern part of the facility is a narrow tube approx. 1.5 to 2 m wide and, due to the narrow conditions, probably only served as a storage facility and for defense. The south wall is broken several times and adapted to the natural course of the rock face. There are several notch windows for exposure as well as square windows with openings of approx. 70 by 50 cm.

The living rooms were in the six meter wide western part of the complex. Remains of transverse walls, beam holes, windows with seating niches, a toilet bay in the west wall and a rubble stone on the second floor reveal the earlier division. A relief found in the ruins showing a man with a short skirt is in the Rhaetian Museum; a copy is exhibited in the Waltensburg local museum. The interior of the building is divided by two transverse walls, which are still preserved in foundations. The partly still existing wooden beams were sawed off, which suggests a planned demolition and removal of the still usable beams. A pent roof built backwards onto the rock is probably the most suitable roof .

history

View of Obersaxen

There are no direct documents about the castle or its builders. Kropfenstein is, however, one of the few grotto castles that were not built in a dark hole as a refuge for times of need, but served as a residence for a respected family who provided bailiffs and judges, among other things. It is possible that the family of small noble families from Kropfenstein , based in Luven (Maschieras), built or acquired the Kropfenstein Castle or named themselves after it, while a branch of this family continued to reside in Luven.

On November 28 or 29, 1328, a Jocobus de Strotznstein was killed during a procession in Rueun . It is uncertain whether it was an early owner of Kropfenstein or that of an as yet unidentified Stotznstein Castle in the Waltensburg area. In 1335 a Bürklin von Cropfenstein is mentioned, who worked several times as a judge and in 1396 Albrecht von Kropfenstein, episcopal judge in Ilanz . His name will be mentioned several times in the years to come. In 1401 Florin von Kropfenstein is mentioned.

In 1433 Clara von Kropfenstein sold some goods to a Donat von Kadunau. In the same year and again in 1437 Junker Hans von Kropfenstein is mentioned, who was nicknamed "Muschieras", which in turn indicates a connection to Luven. There is evidence of close relationships with the barons of Rhäzüns . From May 3, 1437 a feud letter from Ulrich von Rhäzüns and Hans von Kropfenstein to the castellan von Freudenberg has been received.

The best known Kropfensteiner was Marquart von Kropfenstein, who was district judge of the Gray League in 1438/39 and 1442/43 . In 1473 Junker Jörg von Kropfenstein is mentioned, who at that time attached his seal to a sales contract for a Waltensburger. Towards the end of the 15th century, perhaps with Junker Jörg, the von Kropfenstein family must have died out and the castle began to fall apart.

  • The access around the cliff edge

  • Above the entrance gate

  • View of the eastern, narrow part

  • The interior with the foundations of the transverse walls

  • Remainder of the beam

literature

  • Otto P. Clavedetscher, Werner Meyer : The castle book of Graubünden . Zurich / Schwäbisch Hall 1984
  • Lukas Högl: Castles in the Rock: An examination of the medieval cave, grotto and Balm castles in Switzerland . Olten 1986
  • Werner Meyer: Castles of Switzerland . Volume 3. Zurich 1983
  • Thomas Bitterli-Waldvogel: Swiss Castle Guide . No. 374.Basel / Berlin 1995
  • Fritz Hauswirth: Palaces and castles in Switzerland . Volume 8. Neptune, Kreuzlingen 1972
  • Heinrich Boxler: The naming of castles in northeastern Switzerland and in Graubünden , Huber, Frauenfeld 1976
  • Castle map of Switzerland, 2007 edition, Federal Office of Topography / Swiss Castle Association
  • Anton von Castelmur: The castles and palaces of the Canton of Graubünden Volume II, Birkhäuser, Basel 1940
  • Augustin Carigiet, Jürg Rageth, Lukas Högl, Martin Bundi: The castle ruins Jörgenberg and Kropfenstein in Waltensburg. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 749, Series 75). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2004, ISBN 3-85782-749-1 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Boxler, The naming of castles in northeastern Switzerland and in Graubünden ; P. 163