castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Wittnau
Wittnau is a municipality in the district of Laufenburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
Geography
Wittnau has an area, , of . Of this area, or 39.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 53.8% is forested. Of the rest of ...
in the
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
of
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
Alt Homberg was built around 1100 for the Counts of Homberg on a triangular hilltop north of the village of Wittnau. The first recorded Count of Homberg, Rudolf, appears in a record in 1082 when he married Ita von
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. In 1225 the Homberg line died out and the castle was inherited by the Counts of Frohburg. Over the following years a
cadet line
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, titles, ...
of the Frohburg family took the name Neu-Homberg and established a new castle Neu-Homburg near
Läufelfingen
Läufelfingen is a municipality in the district of Sissach in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.
History
Läufelfingen is first mentioned in 1226 as ''Leinvolvingen''. In 1481 it was mentioned as ''Leiffeldingen''.
Geography
Läufelf ...
. In 1323 the last Count of Neu-Homberg, Werner III, died and the castle was inherited by Countess Maria von Oettingen. She sold it on 8 August 1351 to Duke Albrecht of Austria for 400 Marks. On 18 October 1356 the castle was destroyed in the
Basel earthquake
The 1356 Basel earthquake is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and had a moment magnitude in the range of 6.0–7.1.Alt-Homberg fro accessed 13 December 2016 After the earthquake the chapel and portions of the castle were quickly rebuilt, but by 1486 it was recorded as the ''barren castle of Weitnauw''. accessed 13 December 2016 The castle was excavated in 1882-84. Many of the artifacts, dating from the 11th to 15th centuries, are on display in the Historical Museum of Lenzburg Castle.