Marmels Castle german: Burg Marmels is a ruined castle 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 ...

Marmorera Marmorera (german: Marmels) is a village and former municipality in the Sursés in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2016 the former municipalities of Bivio, Cunter, Marmorera, Mulegns, Riom-Parson ...

in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden 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 ...

Location

The ruins of the ''Grottenburg'' (a castle built into a naturally occurring cave) Marmels are located on two rocky points high above the

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

that formed the

Lai da Marmorera Lai da Marmorera is a reservoir in the Grisons, Switzerland. It is part of the Parc Ela nature park. The lake with a surface area of formed after the completion of the Marmorera dam in 1954 when the old village of Marmorera was flooded. The vi ...

near the municipality of

. The entrance to the ruins is along a path that starts near the dam and then climbs steeply through the woods. The path may require an experienced climber and in wet weather may be inaccessible.

Site

On the lowest level, there are portions of two sections of the curtain wall which follow the edge of the cliff. Additionally, traces of an overhanging platform and the outer

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 ...

can still be seen. The three-story, square

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

is located on the southern terrace and rested against the surrounding rock, as can be seen in the sketch from 1893. Only the foundation of the towers of the keep are still visible. The keep had a door and half-round tower on the ground floor as well as another entrance on the next level. These entrances are no longer visible in the foundation. The type and shape of the roof is not known. In the southern wall there was a door that led to a fourth story arbor. A steep path along the rear wall of the

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

leads to the upper level of the castle site. It is clear that there were additional buildings, however, the exact nature or size is not known. The two-story

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

is still standing. The lighter plaster that it was covered with, makes it stand out against the rock wall. The half-round

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

is built into the eastern wall. The plaster is still in good condition. Both levels of the chapel can be reached from the west side. It is unclear how the inhabitants of the castle would have provided drinking water, as there is no well in the castle site. On a small plateau, north of the chapel, are the ruins of a later building. This structure might have served as housing for the priest. On a small outcrop below the castle, the ruins of a small building have been discovered. This building, located between the castle and the village, may have been a small trading post which allowed local farmers to sell food to the inhabitants of the castle.

History

It is unknown exactly when the castle was built. The design of the chapel entered Rätien by the end of the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

era (9th Century) and remained in use until the early 12th Century. Based on the construction of the chapel, the foundation of the castle was likely about 1100. The knights of Marmels were first mentioned as ''

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 ...

'', or unfree knights, in the service of the ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

en'' (or Baron) of

Tarasp Tarasp is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Its eleven settlements are situated within the Lower Engadin valley along the Inn River, at the foot of the Sesvenna Range. On 1 January 2015 the former ...

in 1160. The castle is first mentioned in 1193. Andreas von Tarasp granted Andreas von Marmels, who already held a

fiefdom 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 overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

over half of Tarasp Castle, a position as a ''ministerialis'' to the

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').Burg Spliatsch as a

Vögte 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 ...

(or reeve) and the village of

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...

. Burg Marmels was first mentioned in 1193 when Andreas von Marmels (or his son with the same name) captured the

Cardinal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Cintius for the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and held him at the castle. The most important member of the line was Conradin von Marmels († 1517/18) who held titles to

Haldenstein Haldenstein is a former municipality in the Plessur Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Haldenstein merged into the municipality of Chur. History Haldenstein is first mentioned in 1149 as ''Lan ...

and

Rhäzüns Rhäzüns is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. History Rhäzüns is first mentioned about 840 as ''Raezunne''. It formed a single parish with Bonaduz until the Reformation. It was part of the Grey League from ...

. During the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( gsw, Schwoobechrieg (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin") in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Hab ...

of 1499, he commanded the troops of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) ...

against the

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 ...

s. However, due to his pro-Habsburg stance he was quickly overthrown and imprisoned. His oldest son, Johannes inherited Rhäzüns and later

Neu-Aspermont Castle Neu-Aspermont Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Jenins of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Castle site The castle is built on a rocky spur above the village of Je ...

. His younger son, Rudolf, received Burg Haldenstein, was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

and later the primary ''

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol an ...

'' in

Veltlin Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...

. The castle remained in the possession of the family von Marmels throughout its history, which is quite unusual. The last mention of the castle is in 1550. Conradin's son Rudolf sold the castle, along with the tower of

Tinizong Tinizong-Rona is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the Sursés in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was formed in 1998 from the villages of ''Tinizong'' and '' Rona''. The local administration is situated in Tinizong ...

and the Burg Spliatsch to his nephew Hans. Hans promptly went in

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

on the debt that he ran up to purchase the castle, and Rudolf bought the castle back from him. At that time the castle was in livable condition. By the 16th Century it was abandoned and in the early 17th Century it had fallen into ruin. An earthquake partly destroyed it in 1905. Unlike most Rätien nobles, the House of Marmels did not die out. The descendants of the von Marmels now have the last name of Demarmels.

Gallery

Image:Marmels Plan-English.png, Castle layout Image:Marmels_Beringrest.jpg, Wall foundation from the northern section Image:Marmels_Terrasse_Süden.jpg, Southern terrace Image:Marmels_Trümmer_Wohngebäude.jpg, Southern

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

Image:Marmels Kapelle.jpg, A view of the chapel from the south

References

* Fritz Hauswirth: ''Burgen und Schlösser in der Schweiz''. Band 8. Neptun Verlag, Kreuzlingen 1972. * Otto P. Clavadetscher, Werner Meyer: ''Das Burgenbuch von Graubünden''. Orell Füssli, Zürich 1984, . * Werner Meyer: ''Burgen der Schweiz''. Band 3. Silva Verlag, Zürich 1983. {{Castles of Graubünden Castles in Graubünden Cave castles in Switzerland Ruined castles in Switzerland

Location

Site

History

Gallery

See also

References