Baldern Castle ( or ''Burgstelle Baldern'') is a former
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
in the
municipality of Stallikon and the
canton of Zürich
The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The remains of the castle comprise a set of
earthworks, situated on the
Albis ridge at some above sea level and about south of the summit of
Uetliberg
__NOTOC__
The Uetliberg (also known as Üetliberg) is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to . The mountain offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich (to the northeast of its summit), Zürichberg and ...
. The earthworks are obscured by the site's woodland nature.
A legend recorded ca. 1510 suggests that the castle was built by
Ludwig the German, the first king of
East Francia
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
, in the 9th century, but there is no strong evidence for this.
The castle is known to have been owned by the
Counts of Lenzburg in the 12th century. There have been no significant archeological investigations of the site, and the date and reason it was abandoned is unknown.
[
The site of the castle lies about walk north of the upper station of the Adliswil-Felsenegg cable car at Felsenegg. The panoramic footpath from Uetliberg to Felsenegg passes through the old castle site.
]
Gallery
File:Baldern02.JPG, The approach to the castle from the south
File:Burg Baldern 2017-05-23 16.32.11.jpg, The interior of the castle site
File:Baldern01.JPG, Plaque marking site
See also
* List of castles in Switzerland
This list includes castles and fortresses in Switzerland.
Entries list the name and location of the castle, fortress or ruins in each Canton in Switzerland.
Aargau
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Basel-Landschaft, Bas ...
References
Castles in the canton of Zürich
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