Laufenburg ruins

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Laufenburg ruins
The castle tower of the Laufenburg

The castle tower of the Laufenburg

Creation time : circa 1180
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Laufenburg
Geographical location 47 ° 33 '41.7 "  N , 8 ° 3' 39.7"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '41.7 "  N , 8 ° 3' 39.7"  E ; CH1903:  646 841  /  268,060
Laufenburg ruins (canton Aargau)
Laufenburg ruins

The Laufenburg ruins are the ruins of a hilltop castle in the canton of Aargau . It is located south of the Rhine on an elevation in the middle of the town of Laufenburg .

history

Around 1180 the Habsburgs came into possession of the area around today's Laufenburg. They had fortifications built on both sides of the Rhine, including the first Laufenburg. Parts of this castle complex were probably integrated into the new castle complex later. When Count Rudolf II von Habsburg wanted to found a town near the castle complex, the abbess of the Säckingen monastery blocked the project with an arbitration award.

Rudolf's son later moved his residence to the southern castle complex. He converted it into a residential castle and founded the Habsburg-Laufenburg dynasty . During this time, still visible today was built dungeon . Even in the 13th century was that had developed around the castle, the settlement, in spite of the award, the city law , which was renewed 1328th

However, the Habsburg-Laufenburgs got more and more economic problems, so that Count Hans IV. In 1386 gave the castle and the rule to Duke Leopold III for 12,000 guilders . had to sell from Austria . In 1443, troops from Basel and Bern attacked the Laufenburg during the Old Zurich War , which caused severe damage. During the Burgundian Wars , Laufenburg came temporarily into the hands of Duke Karl the Bold , after whose downfall Kaspar von Schönau (noble family) took over the city. In 1486 he had the damage caused by the siege repaired.

The Laufenburg (right) around 1654

During the Thirty Years War the Swedes captured the city and the castle three times. Only in 1648 did the Austrians regain control. At that time the curtain wall was provided with defensive towers and was almost as high as the keep . There were numerous rooms, a castle garden and a castle chapel . However, the condition of the castle was very bad due to the war. When Italian experts determined in 1687 that the castle no longer had any military value, it was neglected more and more. In 1787 the castle was cleared and used as a quarry from now on. In 1803 the city of Laufenburg bought the remaining ruins for 2,815 francs, in 1908 a park was set up and in 1986 the remaining parts of the ruins were renovated.

Web links

View of the castle hill

literature

  • Thomas Bitterli-Waldvogel: Swiss Castle Guide. Basel / Berlin 1995.
  • Werner Meyer : Castles from A to Z. Burgenlexikon der Regio. Edited by the castle friends of both Basel on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. Klingental printing works, Basel 1981, pp. 73–74.
  • Werner Meyer: Castles of Switzerland. Vol. 8: Cantons of Lucerne and Aargau. Zurich 1982.