Fracstein 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 ...

Seewis im Prättigau Seewis im Prättigau is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. History Seewis im Prättigau is first mentioned in 1224 as ''de Sevve''. In 1622, Fidelis of Sigmaringen a ...

of the

Canton of Graubünden The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

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 ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The castle was probably built in the 11th or 12th century, perhaps for the Lords of Aspermont. Its location above a narrow part of the Prättigau valley means it was built to control and collect tolls from trade through the valley. The castle was extensively rebuilt in the 13th century and first appears in historical records in 1338. In that year the brothers Eberhardt and Ulrich von Aspermont, who had inherited the castle from their father, sold Fracstein to Count Friedrich V von

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( S ...

. Friedrich then appointed Ulrich von Matsch as his

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

over the castle and surrounding lands. A few years later, in 1344, the Matsch and Toggenburg families divided their lands in the Prättigau, however Fracstein was specifically left as a shared castle. In 1436 the last Toggenburg Count, Frederick VII died and the castle was fully inherited by the Matsch family. They sold it to 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 ...

in 1466. Soon thereafter the Habsburgs abandoned the castle and by 1570 it was a ruin. The castle church of St. Aper, located below and east of the castle, remained in use until about 1530. During the

Bündner Wirren The Bündner Wirren ( rm, Scumbigls grischuns/Scumpigls grischuns/Sgurdins grischuns, french: Troubles des Grisons, it, Torbidi grigionesi, English: ''Graubünden disturbances'' or ''Revolt of the Leagues'') was a conflict that lasted between 161 ...

the castle site was once again occupied. In 1621 the Austrians built a barricade near the old toll station and garrisoned the castle with a small force in the following year. Soon thereafter they were forced to abandon Fracstein by anti-Habsburg rebels. In October 1624 Prättigau forces briefly garrisoned the castle. In 1649 the villages of the Prättigau bought their freedom from the Habsburgs and Fracstein became part of

Schiers Schiers is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. The first concrete girder bridge ever built, Salginatobel Bridge, is located in Schiers. Designed by R ...

. The communities agreed to pay for the upkeep of the road through the valley and the castle's bridge over the

Landquart River The Landquart is a river of Switzerland in the canton of Grisons and a right tributary of the Alpine Rhine. It is formed by the confluence of the two mountain streams, ''Vereinabach'' and '' Verstanclabach'', both originating from glaciers in the ...

, but allowed the castle to remain a ruin. During the 1799 French invasion of Graubünden the Prättigau

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

attempted to defend the narrow point in the valley at Fracstein, but were quickly forced to retreat. During the 19th century, the fortifications on the valley floor were mostly destroyed to provide space and building material for a railroad and a road through the valley. During a renovation project in the main tower, a number of carvings from around 1300 were discovered. They included

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

of many of the noble families in the valley, castles topped with wooden structures, palisades and other designs.

Castle site

The castle is built into an overhang on a cliff on the north side of narrow point in the valley and the Landquart River. In addition to the castle, Fracstein included a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

and the church of St. Aper east of the castle along the cliff and a tower and toll station along the river, with a wall that stretched from the cliff to the river across the valley. Only the

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

of the castle still remains. It is about long and three stories tall. The main entrance was into the second story on the east wall. Living quarters were on the third floor and the space was divided into two rooms by a wooden partition. These rooms had large windows on the valley side. Some of the medieval plaster is still visible on the third floor including a number of carvings from around 1300. The castle was supplied with water through wooden pipes from the top of the cliff. About east of the castle stood the rectory. Today only one wall of the three story building is still standing. About east of the rectory is the site of the church. However, today no trace of the building remains. The wall or ''

Letzi A ''Letzi'' (plural: ''Letzinen'', also known in German as a ''Talsperre'' in the sense of a fortification, not a dam) or ''Letzimauer'' refers to defensive barriers whose purpose is to protect the entrance into a valley. The term is Swiss, and ...

'' stretches from the south-east corner of the castle to the river. The gate on the valley road was a pointed arch and had a gate house that was about . The gate and gatehouse along with much of the wall were demolished during construction of the railroad and new road along the valley floor.

The castle's name

Several different root words have been suggested for the name Fracstein. It might have come from ''fractus'' meaning broken. Another theory comes from the castle being called ''Fragestein'' in 1338 and ''Fragstein'' later. If that was the original name, then the root word might have been ''fragen'' (questions) or ''aufragen'' (to stand up).

Gallery

File:Fracstein_Lage.jpg, Fracstein is located at the base of the cliff File:Fracstein_West.jpg, Southwall File:Fracstein_Zeichen_Orig.jpg, Carvings on the east wall File:Fracstein_Zeichen.jpg, Reconstruction of the carvings File:Fracstein_Pfaffenhaus.jpg, Castle priest's house File:Fracstein_Pfaffenhaus_aussen.jpg, South facade of the priest's house File:Fracstein_Pfaffenhaus_innen.jpg, Eastern inner wall

Literature

* Werner Meyer: ''Burgen der Schweiz. Band 3: Kanton Graubünden. Deutschsprachiger und romanischer Teil.'' Zürich 1983 * Maria-Letizia Boscardin: ''Die Grottenburg Fracstein und ihre Ritzzeichnungen''. In: ''Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters''. Band 4. Olten 1977 * Fritz Hauswirth: ''Burgen und Schlösser in der Schweiz'', Band 8, Neptun Verlag Kreuzlingen, 1972 * Anton von Castelmur: ''Die Burgen und Schlösser des Kantons Graubünden'', Band I, Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel 1940 * Burgenkarte der Schweiz, Ausgabe 2007, Bundesamt für Landestopografie/Schweizerischer Burgenverein * Heinrich Boxler, ''Burgennamengebung in der Nordostschweiz und in Graubünden'', Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld 1976

References

External links

Burgruine Fracstein
from ''www.graubuendenkultur.ch''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fracstein Castle Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Castles in Graubünden Cave castles in Switzerland Ruined castles in Switzerland Seewis im Prättigau