Ortenstein Castle

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Location of the castle

The Ortenstein Castle is a castle in the area of Group Tumegl / Tomils the community Domleschg GR in the Swiss canton of Grisons .

The name is derived from the Old and Middle High German word ort , which means something like outermost point, edge, point. It thus characterizes the location of the castle on the outermost edge of a plateau that slopes vertically towards the level of the rear Rhine.

history

Drawing by Jan Hackaert , 1655
General plan
View from the northeast
Look into the yard

There are no documents available about the time of construction. It is believed that the tower was built on episcopal soil in the second quarter of the 13th century. It is uncertain whether the bishop of Chur himself initiated the construction or the barons of Vaz who built it. In any case, as episcopal fiefs, the Vazer owned the castle.

The earliest written mention of the castle comes from the years 1309 and 1312, when the last Vazer Donat von Vaz issued documents here. After his death around 1338, Ortenstein and the other estates in Domleschg came to the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans through the marriage of his daughter Ursula von Vaz . Ursula received in 1338 together with Meierhof and church set Tomils also Ortenstein from the bishop to fief . She was often at the castle and issued numerous documents here. Until 1492 the episcopal fiefs were often renewed to the Werdenbergs.

A von Ortenstein family appeared in the 14th century. It was a family of Vazisch-Werdenberg ministerials who served as bailiffs on Ortenstein. Other bailiffs from 1411 are documented as Oswald von Marmels , half count Marquard von Werdenberg-Sargans, Conradin Jecklin the Elder, Peter Defects von Splügen, Conrad Jecklin the Younger and 1518–1523 Victor Büchler.

In the Schamser feud in 1451, Ortenstein was destroyed together with other Werdenberg castles in Domleschg. In contrast to other castles, an arbitration award of July 21, 1452 allowed the reconstruction of Ortenstein, which was just broken in this war , but was no longer allowed to be used against the superior and the church federation . The facility was heavily modified by the reconstruction.

In 1455 the Werdenbergers had to pledge the castle to Peter von Griffensee for economic reasons. Another pledge to the Counts of Montfort followed in 1463 and to Glarus in 1471. After the death of Count Georg von Werdenberg-Sargans in 1505, Ortenstein became an episcopal fiefdom of Count Andreas von Sonnenberg in 1509 , then passed to Wilhelm Truchsess von Waldburg and in 1523 sold to Ludwig Tschudi the Younger of Glarus, a brother of the historian Aegidius Tschudi . He sold the castle with the lordship rights in 1527 to the community of Tomils, who sold it in 1528 to Victor von Büchler, the former Vogt of Ortenstein.

His daughter Anna brought Ortenstein into her marriage to Jakob Travers, who was one of the most influential patrician families of the Three Leagues . Ortenstein owned a branch of the Travers family until 1846. It was under them that the major alterations of the 17th century were carried out.

Due to the economic ruin of the Travers family, Ortenstein fell into the hands of their creditors, who sold the castle to Father Theodosius Florentini in 1856 . He wanted to set up a children's home and a printing press in the castle, similar to the one in Rhäzüns Castle , but was unable to realize the plans due to financial difficulties. In 1850 there were plans for an agricultural school, but this too did not materialize. In 1860 Ortenstein was sold to the historian Wolfgang von Juvalta for 103,000 francs . The plant came to the von Tscharner family through inheritance in 1893 and passed to the Linder family in Basel after the death of Salome Linder-von Tscharner in 2009.

investment

Even if modern renovations have changed the original character of the castle, the main elements of the complex from the Middle Ages are still recognizable. The complex is dominated by the oldest part of the complex, the seven-story keep in the center with a floor plan around 11 × 11 meters and a wall thickness of 1.6 meters. The vaults on the lower floors are more recent; in the upper ones, arbors, lavatories and window niches have been preserved. The tower is closed by a crenellated wreath and a tent roof. This originally consisted of a lighter construction so that it could be removed in the event of danger. The actual roof, a pent roof sloping to the west made of strong beams, was hung in the tower and attached below the battlements. Originally, the tower was surrounded by a trapezoidal bering that was gradually built over over the centuries.

There is no certainty about the age and sequence of the development. Many renovations date from the years between 1720 and 1740. At that time the west wing was extended to the Bering , the bell tower was raised and provided with an onion dome. The east wing was also rebuilt and all interior spaces were generously furnished. During the renovations from 1860 onwards, the roofs were renewed, some of the facades were redesigned and the dilapidated buildings were repaired under the then owner, the historian Wolfgang von Juvalta.

The area around the castle has also changed significantly over time. Garden terraces were created on the steep slope in the east of the facility. Today there is a garden on the southern forecourt, where originally there was probably an outer bailey with utility buildings.

literature

  • Thomas Bitterli: Swiss Castle Guide . Basel / Berlin 1995.
  • Anton von Castelmur: Castles and palaces of the Canton of Graubünden . Volume I. Birkhäuser, Basel 1940.
  • Otto P. Clavadetscher, Werner Meyer : The castle book of Graubünden. Zurich 1984, ISBN 3-280-01319-4 .
  • Fritz Hauswirth: Castles and palaces in Switzerland. Volume 8. Neptun Verlag, Kreuzlingen 1972.
  • Erwin Poeschel: Art monuments of the canton of Graubünden . Volume 3. Birkhäuser, Basel 1945.
  • Werner Meyer: Castles of Switzerland . Volume 3. Silva, Zurich 1983.
  • Castle map of Switzerland, 2007 edition, Federal Office of Topography / Swiss Castle Association.
  • Ludmila Seifert, Leza Dosch: Art guide through Graubünden : Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich 2008
  • Jürg Simonett: Ortenstein. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2016 .

Web links

Commons : Ortenstein Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Middle High German Dictionary , accessed on May 4, 2009.
  2. ^ Südostschweiz.ch: Family holidays in your own castle , accessed on April 22, 2015.

Coordinates: 46 ° 45 ′ 34 "  N , 9 ° 26 ′ 7"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and fifty-two thousand five hundred twenty-two  /  180636