Kasteln Castle

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Kasteln Castle
Oberflachs SchlossKasteln.jpg
Creation time : 1238
Conservation status: receive
Place: Upper flax
Geographical location 47 ° 26 '32.6 "  N , 8 ° 7' 8.9"  O Coordinates: 47 ° 26 '32.6 "  N , 8 ° 7' 8.9"  E ; CH1903:  651330  /  254843
Kasteln Castle (Canton Aargau)
Kasteln Castle

The Kasteln Castle is a castle in the municipality Schinznach in the Swiss canton of Aargau . It is located to the west of the village on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by vineyards and forests. Today it serves as a school home for normally gifted, behavioral students. The immediately adjacent Ruchenstein Castle was demolished in 1643 when Kasteln Castle was converted into a palace.

history

Kasteln Castle was built around 1200 in the central Schenkenbergertal , only a few kilometers from Schenkenberg Castle. In 1238, the castles' inns were first mentioned in a document as residents of the castle, vassals of the Kyburger . In 1262, on the ledge immediately behind it, Ruchenstein Castle was built, where the Knights of Ruchenstein, who came from the March on the upper Lake of Zurich , lived. After the Kyburgs died out in 1264, sovereignty over the area passed to the Habsburgs . In 1301 the knights of Ruchenstein died out, ten years later the bars of Kasteln. Both castles were acquired by the Lords of Mülinen from Brugg . From here they ruled over a small area on the southern edge of the Jura .

Johann Ludwig von Erlach bought the two castles in 1631. In 1642, the Bernese patrician and general ordered the conversion of Kasteln Castle into a representative palace. Ruchenstein Castle was completely demolished one year later and served as a supplier of building materials. Because no expertise had previously been obtained and the client was mostly absent, the renovation turned out to be an expensive undertaking and dragged on until 1650. After Kasteln had been owned by the von Erlach family for a hundred years , the small estate was sold to the city of Bern for 90,000 thalers . The smallest bailiwick of the Bernese Aargau was created , consisting of the villages Auenstein , Oberflachs , Schinznach and Villnachern : the office of Kasteln .

After the fall of the Ancien Régime , the Bernese state domain came into the possession of the newly founded Canton of Aargau in 1803, which sold it to private customers in 1836. In 1855 the brothers Friedrich and Louis Schmutziger from Aarau acquired the property and opened a “rescue facility for orphaned and neglected pupils” of the Reformed denomination, known in contemporary documents as the “Poor Education Center in Kasteln”. In 1867 there were 18 boys and 11 girls. On August 24, 1907, one of the pupils set fire to the castle and the neighboring barn. Both buildings suffered severe damage and had to be rebuilt; It was not until 1909 that the institution was resumed in Kasteln

Kasteln Castle around 1860

The institution received the status of a foundation in 1923 and was converted into a school home for normally gifted, behavioral students in 1955. In 1969 a second school building, a swimming pool and a staff house were built next to the castle. The entire castle was extensively renovated inside and outside in 2009 and adapted to today's needs of social education.

building

Kasteln is the only uniformly baroque palace in Aargau. Its shape can be traced back to the renovations under Johann Ludwig von Erlach. In 1642/50, a two-story wing was added to the four-story medieval core castle in the west and east. Material from the demolished Ruchenstein Castle was sometimes used. However, the castle is essentially made of Mägenwil shell limestone . At the same time the “Bear Castle” was built to the southeast; In 1840 the owner at the time had this part torn down again. The unusually rich interior of the castle was lost in the fire in 1907.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Müller 1870, p. 282.

Web links

Commons : Schloss Kasteln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files