Böttstein Castle is a

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 ...

Böttstein Böttstein is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Some scattered La Tène culture items have been discovered near Böttstein. The modern village of Böttstein is first mentioned in 1087 as '' ...

in the canton 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 ...

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 ...

History

The castle was built in the 12th century for the Barons of Böttstein. The family first appears in a historical records in 1087, though they died out in the early 13th century. The family was subject to the Earl of Frickgau, which included the Homberg-Tierstein family and after 1231, the

Habsburgs 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 ...

. After the extinction of the Böttstein line, the castle became the property of the Barons of Tiefenstein in the 13th century. In 1361 the Lords of Wessenberg were granted the castle and surrounding villages as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Rudolf of Austria. After the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

conquered the Aargau in 1415, the local rulers and their

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

remained the same, only the overlords changed. The villages and castle passed through a number of owners until 1563 when they were sold to the Lords of Hallwil. After passing through several other owners on 5 June 1606 the von Roll brothers, Johann Peter, Johann Walter and Karl Emanuel, bought Böttstein for 1,800 florins. They were joined in 1615 by a fourth brother, Johann Ludwig.Swiss Castles.ch
accessed 19 May 2016 In the same year, the von Roll brothers demolished parts of the old castle and began building a new castle and chapel. In 1654 the von Roll estates were divided and Johann Peter inherited the castle. It passed down to his son Karl Ernst, who only had a daughter, named Anna Maria Magdalena von Roll. In 1674 she married Johann Martin Schmid von Bellikon, bringing castle into the von Bellikon family. They owned the surrounding villages until the 1798 French Invasion and the creation of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

abolished much of the power of the nobility. Böttstein became part of the Helvetic

Canton of Baden The Canton of Baden (german: Kanton Baden) was a canton of the Helvetic Republic (a Napoleonic-era precursor of modern-day Switzerland). Its capital was the town of Baden. Formation The canton was created in 1798 from the merger of the County of ...

until the collapse of the Republic and the 1803

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

in which the modern Canton of Aargau was created. Despite losing their power over the village, the family retained the castle until 1893. The following year the castle became a ''monastery'' of a spiritual organization that called itself ''Internationales Töchterinstitut'' (International Daughter's Institute). The Institute quickly disbanded and the castle passed through a number of owners until 1965. In that year it was acquired by ''Nordostschweizerische Kraftwerke AG'' (today

Axpo Holding Axpo Holding AG, headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, Baden in Cantons of Switzerland, Canton Canton of Aargau, Aargau, and its subsidiaries constitute the energy company Axpo. Axpo Holding AG was established in 2001 and is 100-per cent publicly ...

), an association of cantonal power companies in north-east Switzerland. The castle was used to provide office space for the technical department during construction of the

Beznau Nuclear Power Plant The Beznau nuclear power plant (german: Kernkraftwerk Beznau ''KKB is a nuclear power plant of the Swiss energy utility Axpo, located in the municipality Döttingen, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, on an artificial island in the Aar river. The ...

. It was renovated in 1971-1974 and converted into a country restaurant and hotel. After being sold by Axpo Holding, the Castle today remains in Private ownership. The Castle continues to be a country hotel and restaurants

References

External links

Schloss Böttstein bei InfoZentralschweiz online

Website Schloss Böttstein

Aargau Canton Historic Preservation Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottstein Castle Castles in Aargau

History

See also

References

External links