Tower of the Lords of Hospental
| Hospental tower ruins | ||
|---|---|---|
 Tower with Spitzberg (2011) |
||
| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Spur position | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, partly preserved | |
| Place: | Hospental | |
| Geographical location | 46 ° 37 '7.3 " N , 8 ° 34' 0.4" E | |
| Height: | 1509 m above sea level M. | |
|
||
.jpg)
.jpg)
The tower of the Lords of Hospental (also known as the Longobard Tower ) is in the municipality of Hospental in the Swiss canton of Uri .
location
The tower stands on an exposed rock plateau at an altitude of 1509 m above sea level. M. in Urserental . To the north of it, the Furkareuss , a headwaters of the Rhine, flows 150 m away . The Gotthardreuss , which the Furkareuss flows into from the right, runs 150 m to the east . Main road 2 climbs to the south in the direction of the Gotthard Pass . To the west, the Furkatal opens up to Realp and continues up to the Furka Pass .
history
As early as the Stone Age , a trade route, coming from the Vorderrhein , led in an east-west direction over the Oberalp and Furka passes into the Valais Rhone Valley . From Hospental the route to the south could be taken over the Gotthard Pass. The area was initially unattractive for permanent settlement because of the long winters. Early traces of settlement, probably from cattle herders, did not appear until the Celtic period; the passes were committed no later than the early Roman Empire .
In the 11th and 12th centuries the first permanent settlements were founded, which, as old documents show, can be assigned to the Abbots of Disentis .
The tower, made of rough stone, was built in the 13th century and is a cultural asset of national importance . The tower probably did not serve as a customs office or to control access to the pass, but possibly as a prison. It was no longer inhabited since the 15th century and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1898 it was extensively renovated.
description
The building was equipped with a high entrance on the first floor. A so-called lavatory dungeon , the location of the fireplace and an artificially constructed ditch, which provided additional protection against enemy approaches, are still clearly visible today . The rainwater from the roof that was originally above the crenellated third floor was collected in a cistern .
Today the tower is freely accessible all year round.
literature
- Thomas Brunner: Hospental on the Gotthard Pass. Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 2003. ISBN 978-3-85782-739-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Stadler: Furka Pass. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ a b Hospental Tower at swisscastles.ch