Zwing Uri is a ruined medieval castle north of Amsteg, today in the territory of 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 ...

Silenen Silenen is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. Geography Silenen municipality comprises the villages of Silenen (divided into three parts, Dörfli, Russ, Rusli), Amsteg, and Acherli, besides numerous smaller hamlets or disperse ...

in the canton of

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...

in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The castle is notable for its role in

Swiss historiography The historiography of Switzerland is the study of the history of Switzerland. Early accounts of the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy are found in the numerous Swiss chronicles of the 14th to 16th centuries. As elsewhere in Europe, these ...

as the first fortress destroyed in the ''

Burgenbruch The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure ...

'' at the beginning of the

Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...

. The

slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

of Zwing Uri (''Twing Üren'') is mentioned in the ''

White Book of Sarnen The ''White Book of Sarnen'' (german: Weisses Buch von Sarnen) is a collection of medieval manuscripts compiled in the late 15th century by Hans Schriber, state secretary (''Landschreiber'') in the Swiss Confederation canton Obwalden. This volum ...

'', a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by the ''

Chronicon Helveticum The ''Chronicon Helveticum'' (Latin for "Swiss Chronicle") is one of the oldest accounts of the early history of the Swiss Confederation. The rough draft of the ''Chronicon Helveticum'' was written by Swiss historian Aegidius Tschudi in 1550.Bergi ...

'' (1570). The site had been occupied since the Bronze Age. By 1150, there had been a farmstead with three buildings. By the early 13th century, the dwelling was replaced by a defensive tower. During the period of 1310 to 1320, the tower was still standing, and there are traces of a planned expansion into a full castle with a ring wall and a moat. This expansion was interrupted at about six weeks into the construction work, and the castle was abandoned in ca. 1320, i.e. 13 years after the traditional date of the ''Burgenbruch''. The site remained unoccupied until 1868, when a restaurant was built, using stones from the ruin. The remains were secured in 1928, when the ruin was acquired by the ''

Schweizerischer Burgenverein ''Schweizerischer Burgenverein'' is a Swiss voluntary association dedicated to the study and preservation of medieval castles in Switzerland. Established in 1927 as ''Schweizerische Vereinigung zur Erhaltung der Burgen und Ruinen'' ("Swiss associa ...

''. Archaeological excavations of the ruin were performed in 1978.W. Meyer et al., ''Die bösen Türnli: Archäologische Beiträge zur Burgenforschung in der Urschweiz'',Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, vol. 11, Olten / Freiburg i.Br., 1984. W. Meyer (ed), ''Burgen der Schweiz'', vol. 1, Zürich, 1981.

References

{{Coord, 46, 46, 28, N, 8, 40, 14, E, region:CH_type:landmark, display=title Castles in the canton of Uri Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Uri

See also

References