Brunegg castle () is a castle 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' ...

Brunegg Brunegg is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Brunegg is first mentioned in first half of the 12th century as ''Bruneco''. In 1273 it was mentioned as ''Brunegge''. Brunegg castle was b ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

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 castle was built on a hill at the edge of the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

in the 13th century. This castle was probably built, together with Wildegg castle in nearby Wildegg, as part of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

border defenses. The castle was occupied by

knights, including Schenken von Brunegg and Gessler von Meienberg. In 1415 the castle was besieged by

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

ese troops, but they lifted the siege after a counterattack. However, Bern conquered the Aargau, and awarded the fief to the Segenser or Segesser family. Between 1538 and 1798, the castle was subordinate to the governor of Lenzburg. In 1815 it became the property of the Hünerwadel family of Lenzburg. The current owners of the castle, the von Salis family, inherited the castle through marriage from the Hünerwadels. For hundreds of years, the castle was poorly maintained, and in the 17th century it was heavily damaged twice through storm and tempest. In 1805–06, the

keep A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...

and out buildings were repaired and the roof was rebuilt. The village of Brunegg owes its name and existence to the castle. Initially it belonged to the personal land of the Habsburgs. In the 14th century, they granted the rights to

low justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. The scale ...

into the hands of the castle owners. Bern placed in the court of Othmarsingen in the Lenzburg district. In the 19th century it was part of the Brugg district though since 1840 it has been in the Lenzburg district.

References

{{Castles of Aargau Castles in Aargau House of Habsburg 13th-century architecture in Switzerland

See also

References