Iberg Castle (german: Ruine Iberg) is a ruined castle located on Iberg mountain 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 ...

Riniken Riniken is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History While Iberg Castle was built in the 11th Century and abandoned in 1200, the village of Riniken is first mentioned in 1253 as ''Rinikon''. The ...

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 ...

. Only a few remnants of the ruins are visible.

Castle History

The castle was built in the 11th Century on the northeastern edge of Iberg Mountain. This site consisted of a main building, a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

and two outbuildings. Surrounding the site was the castle

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, which should protect against attacks from the south. As there are no written records of the castle nor the inhabitants, the only information about the castle comes from archaeological investigations. The castle was abandoned around 1200 or possibly later, at the end of the 12th or at the beginning of the 13th Century when a fire destroyed the castle.Canton of Aargau - Inventory of protected heritage sites
accessed 5 May 2016 During reconstruction, the moat was expanded and additional towers were added. However, the castle was abandoned before completion of work, possibly due to resistance from

Murbach Abbey Murbach Abbey (french: Abbaye de Murbach) was a famous Benedictine monastery in Murbach, southern Alsace, in a valley at the foot of the Grand Ballon in the Vosges. The monastery was founded in 727 by Eberhard, Count of Alsace, and established a ...

. Since the area around the castle was held by the

House of 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 ...

and Murbach Abbey, it is likely that the castle was founded by the Habsburgs or by a Habsburg

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

.Riniken municipality - History
accessed 5 May 2016

References

External links

Information about Iberg Castle from the website of Riniken
{{Castles of Aargau Castles in Aargau Ruined castles in Switzerland

Castle History

See also

References

External links