Klingenhorn Castle is a ruined

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 Malans 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 ...

History

While nothing is known about the castle's foundation, it was probably built in the 13th century perhaps for the Lords of Vaz or of Aspermont. It was probably held by a

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

family, unfree knights in service to a higher noble. By 1372 it was owned by the von Matsch family, who offered it as

collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

for 200 marks from Rudolf von Underwegen. Part of the agreement stipulated that the castle must remain open to the Matsch family at any time. In 1420 it was mentioned as the property of Ulrich Seger, the

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 ...

and judge over Malans, but the castle appears to have been uninhabitable at that time. It appears that the castle was probably gutted by a fire. By 1441 it appears to have been a ruin. Around 1470 the Schlandersberg family acquired the castle and in 1497 Deipold von Schlandersburg granted the ruins and the castle hill to Hans Sutter of Malans. However, if he was to rebuild the castle he had to return the hill to them. The castle was never rebuilt.

Castle site

The castle is located on a hill above the village of Malans. The ruins are visible from the valley floor. The tower is protected by a ditch which encircles much of the hilltop. The main tower still shows the Pietra Rasa construction, where the mortar that holds the rough stones together is also used as a plaster to them. After plastering with mortar, lines are incised into the mortar to give the appearance of regular bricks or stones. Only three stories of the tower are still standing and a high entrance on the second story, which was later walled up, is still visible. Two fireplaces built into the walls can still be seen. The castle was protected with a

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction m ...

wall, parts of which are still standing.

Gallery

Klingenhorn Balkenlöcher.jpg, Holes for wooden beams to support the floor inside the tower Klingenhorn Ecke innen.jpg, Interior of the tower Klingenhorn Eingang aussen.jpg, Exterior view of the tower entrance Klingenhorn Eingang innen.jpg, Interior of the entrance Klingenhorn Schartenfenster.jpg, A window inside the tower Klingenhorn Turm innen.jpg, Interior of the tower

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klingenhorn Castle Castles in Graubünden Ruined castles in Switzerland

History

Castle site

Gallery

See also

References