Schwarzenstein Castle (Obersaxen)

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Schwarzenstein Castle
Schwarzenstein Castle

Schwarzenstein Castle

Creation time : around 1250
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Ruin, rubble
Standing position : Ministeriale
Construction: Rubble stones
Place: Obersaxen
Geographical location 46 ° 45 '1.4 "  N , 9 ° 4' 22"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 45 '1.4 "  N , 9 ° 4' 22"  E ; CH1903:  724 857  /  178 987
Height: 1173  m above sea level M.
Schwarzenstein Castle (Canton of Graubünden)
Schwarzenstein Castle

The ruins of Schwarzenstein Castle are located in the municipality of Waltensburg in the Swiss canton of Graubünden .

location

The ruins of the hilltop castle are 1173  m above sea level. M. northwest of the Church of St. Joseph on an elongated rock head that drops vertically deep on the valley side. A trench-like depression lies on the mountain side. The facility can be easily reached from the street via a hiking trail in fifteen minutes. The facility is accessed through an opening that was subsequently made in the wall at the foot of the eastern section.

Surname

In Obersaxen, German-speaking settlers advanced into a Rhaeto-Romanic area in which there were probably already castles. Since the name of a knightly dynasty does not appear on any of the four castles, it can be assumed that the castle name was simply formed from the name of the settler to whose area the crumbling castle belonged. The name Schwarzenstein can therefore best be explained with the connection with the family name Schwarz, but could also refer to the dark rock over which the castle stood.

investment

The facility stretches over a length of around 40 meters and consists of a central section that is not built over, an east section and a west section. In the western part with a polygonal floor plan, the door is placed on the north side, which could be reached via a wooden construction above the abyss. The door lintel consisted of a stone slab, a channel for the sliding beam and recessed swivel pan have been preserved. Cubic panel-clad wall niches and notch windows can be found in the walls . In the past there was probably a wooden, habitable superstructure above it. A double-leaf door led into the middle part of the complex, another door with a round arch into the eastern, older part, which contained a multi-part residential building.

The eastern wall tooth is threatened with decay. The uppermost part with a pretty panel-clad niche, which is still shown in both books by Clavadetscher and Meyer, has already collapsed.

The whole complex is overgrown and in the process of decay. From the negative of a tree walled into the south wall, as mentioned by Clavadetscher, hardly anything can be seen. The plateau was surrounded on the mountain side by a circular wall, which has been preserved in considerable remains.

history

There are no written documents about the origins and history of the castle. Schwarzenstein was probably founded by the barons of Rhäzüns , as whose possession it is mentioned in 1289; The controversial legal situation in the property situation in the Obersaxen area required the presence of Rhäzünser servants.

In a feud, Heinrich von Löwenstein, whose goods were in the area of Ilanz , snatched Schwarzenstein from Heinrich Brun von Rhäzüns, but was supposed to return them after a peace treaty: quod castrum de Swatzenstain debetur .

The sloppy masonry points to a rather late construction period in the middle of the 13th century. The fact that the castle was rebuilt and expanded twice suggests that it has been in use for a longer period of time. Schwarzenstein was probably left in the middle of the 14th century, when the Walsers who settled there received low jurisdiction and the presence of Rhäzünser ministerials was no longer necessary.

In 1468, when an agreement was reached on the Rhäzüns legacy, only the hopefully called Swartzenstein with the wysen in the gorge was mentioned . The farm was probably located in the cleared area south of the castle.

gallery

  • Bering from the inside

  • Bering, view from the south

  • Arched door from the east to the middle wing

  • Door from the west wing

  • Entrance on the north side

  • Sill window

  • Wall in the east wing

  • Wall tooth with window reveal on the right

literature

  • Otto P. Clavadetscher, Werner Meyer : The castle book of Graubünden . Orell Füssli, Zurich et al. 1984, ISBN 3-280-01319-4 .
  • Heinrich Boxler: Castle naming in north-eastern Switzerland and in Graubünden . Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld et al. 1976, ISBN 3-7193-0538-4 , ( Studia linguistica Alemannica 6), (also: Zurich, Univ., Diss., 1976).
  • Castle map of Switzerland. With detailed maps and description of the property . = Carte des châtaux de la Suisse. Avec cartes de detail et description of the objet . = Carta dei castelli della Svizzera. Con carte dettagliate e descrizione degli oggetti . Federal Office for Topography swisstopo, Wabern 2007, (1: 200,000).
  • Anton von Castelmur: The castles and palaces of the Canton of Graubünden . Volume 2. Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel 1940, ( The castles and palaces of Switzerland 15, 1, ZDB -ID 1000492-0 ).
  • Werner Meyer: Castles of Switzerland . Volume 3: Canton of Graubünden . (German and Romance parts). Silva Verlag, Zurich 1983.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Boxler, The naming of castles in Northeastern Switzerland and in Graubünden, p. 155

Web links

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