Ortenstein 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 ...

Domleschg Domleschg is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Almens, Paspels, Pratval, Rodels and Tomils merged to form the new municipality of Domleschg.

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 built around 1250 on the bishop's land near

Tumegl/Tomils Tumegl/Tomils is a village in the municipality of Tomils in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. In 2009 Tumegl/Tomils merged with Feldis/Veulden, Scheid and Trans to form the municipality of Tomils.

. It was built either by the Bishop of Chur or by his representative, the Lords of Vaz. The ecclesiastical farms in Tomils were given 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 ...

to the Vaz family in 1275. The castle is first mentioned in 1309 as ''Ortenstain''. In 1338 the castle fief was inherited by Ursula von Werdenberg after the extinction of the male heirs of Vaz. By the 14th century the

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 ...

(unfree knights in service to a higher noble) family of Ortenstein held the castle for the Werdenberg-Sargans family. In the 15th century a number of nobles lived in Ortenstein. The castle was destroyed in 1451 during a war between the residents of the

Schams thumb , The Schams north of Cagliatscha_Castle.html"_;"title="Andeer.__In_the_top_left,_the_ruins_of_Cagliatscha_Castle">Andeer.__In_the_top_left,_the_ruins_of_Cagliatscha_Castle_ The_Schams_(_rm.html" ;"title="Cagliatscha_Castle_.html" ;"tit ...

valley and the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans. On 21 July 1452 the Counts and the

League of God's House The League of God's House (German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', rm, ) was formed in what is now Switzerland on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied wi ...

signed a peace treaty. Unlike many of the castles which were damaged during the war and left in ruins, the counts were allowed to rebuild Ortenstein as long as they swore never to use it against the League. The new castle incorporated the main tower from the old, while the rest was new. The main gate was moved from the north-east side to the south and a large gatehouse tower was added. In 1455 the castle was given 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 ...

to Peter von Griffensee, followed by the Counts of Montfort in 1463 and the town of

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in S ...

in 1471. It remained the property of Count Georg von Werdenberg-Sargans until his death in 1505. After 1505 it passed through a number of hands until 1527 when Ludwig Tschudi sold it and the rulership rights to the village of Tumegl/Tomils. The following year Victor von Buhlen acquired the castle. The castle then came to the Travers family after Victor's daughter married Jakob Travers. The Travers family was a wealthy

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

family and became one of the most powerful in 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 (Grison ...

. The castle remained in the family for centuries and during the 18th century they rebuilt much of it. In 1846 the family fell into financial trouble and the castle was given to their creditors to settle some of their debts. In 1856 the creditors sold Ortenstein to Father Theodosius Florentini who hoped to turn it into a home for neglected children. The Father was unable to raise enough money and in 1860 sold it for 103,000

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...

s to Wolfgang von Juvalta. In 1893 it was inherited by the Tscharner family, who still own it today.

Castle site

The main tower of the castle is a seven-story residence tower that is and has walls that are up to thick. From the 15th century reconstruction only the wing north of the tower and the chapel on its third floor retain their original

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

appearance. Between 1720 and 1740 it was extensively rebuilt. The west wing was extended, the gatehouse raised and a new east wing was added.

Gallery

File:Christian Conradin Schloss Ortenstein.jpg, Ortenstein in the early 20th century File:Ortenstein 1880.jpg, Ortenstein in 1880 File:Ortenstein Hackaert 1655.jpg, Ortenstein in 1655 File:Ortenstein Hof.jpg, Ortenstein courtyard File:Ortenstein Nordost.jpg, Ortenstein Castle

References

External links

Story of the castle with photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortenstein Castle Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Castles in Graubünden Domleschg

History

Castle site

Gallery

See also

References

External links