Alt-Aspermont Castle is a ruined

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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Trimmis Trimmis is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Landquart Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. History Trimmis is first mentioned in 765 as ''Tremine''. In 768 it was mentioned as ''Tremu ...

of the

Canton of Graubünden The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; * Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton of Graubünden, is one of the twenty-six cantons of Switzerland. I ...

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 ...

. It was once one of the largest castles in Graubünden, but today only a few small ruins remain.

History

The castle was probably built in the 12th century as the home castle of the Aspermont family. The Aspermont family were

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

, unfree knights in service to a higher noble, in service to the

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Diocese of Chur in Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').Tarasp Tarasp is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Inn District, Switzerland, Inn in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. Its eleven settlements are situated within the Lower Engadin ...

and to the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

. In 1170 two of Schwicker's sons, Ulrich and Heinrich, were two of the three witnesses when the Bishop bestowed a title on the son of the king. Members of the family also served as the vice- dominus under the bishops. Around the mid-13th century the family had managed to acquire, through marriage and carefully using the rivalry between the bishop and local nobles, titles to Jenins,

Maienfeld Maienfeld () is a municipality in the Landquart Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story '' Heidi''. History Maienfeld li ...

and

Prättigau The Prättigau is a geographical region in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland. It consists of the main valley of the river Landquart and the valleys of its side-rivers and creeks. Landquart River, which drains into the Alpine Rhine in the town ...

. They moved to

Neu-Aspermont Castle Neu-Aspermont Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Jenins in 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 Jen ...

in Jenins and

Fracstein Castle Fracstein Castle is a castle in the Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of Seewis im Prättigau of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance, herita ...

in Prättigau and sold Alt Aspermont to the bishop. By 1275 the castle was owned by the bishop and had been granted as a

fief A fief (; ) 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 of feudal alle ...

to Walter IV von Vaz. They held the castle for less than a decade before Walter's death in 1284. Around 1288 the Abbot of St. Gall, Wilhelm of Montfort, fled the anti-abbot, supported by

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's imperial election of 1273, election marked the end of the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Great Interregnum whic ...

, to Alt-Aspermont. During an uprising in 1395-96 the castle was besieged by the bishop's forces. In 1452 the castle was besieged by the

League of God's House The League of God's House ( German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', ) 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 with ...

for around a year. The last bishop's

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

was Jorg Rink von Baldenstein, who ruled over Trimmis and Zizers until the Ilanz Articles were accepted in 1526. The Articles strictly limited the bishop's worldly power and removed the need for a bailiff at the castle. It was abandoned, but remained in good condition at least until 1548. During the

Bündner Wirren The Bündner Wirren (, , , English: ''Graubünden disturbances'' or ''Revolt of the Leagues'') was a conflict that lasted between 1618 and 1639 in what is now the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Initially a revolt by local Catholics against thei ...

in the early 17th century, the castle was occupied by Austrian forces in 1622, but again abandoned shortly thereafter. On 11 April 1878 the main tower of the castle collapsed into the valley below.

Gallery

Alt_Aspermont_Mauerabbruch_Osten.jpg, Wall ruins, viewed from the east Alt_Aspermont_Mauerrest.jpg, Wall ruins Alt_Aspermont_Nordecke.jpg, North corner Alt_Aspermont_Südwestsicht.jpg, View toward the south-west Alt_Aspermont_Turmfundament.jpg, Part of the tower's foundation Alt_Aspermont_Turmfundament1.jpg, Ruins of the tower's foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspermont Castle, Alt Trimmis Castles in Graubünden Ruined castles in Switzerland