Gutenberg Castle (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Burg Gutenberg'') is an intact

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 town of Balzers,

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

, in the centre of the municipality of Balzers, the southern-most municipality in the country. Gutenberg is one of the five castles of the principality and one of two that have survived intact until the present day. Unlike

Vaduz Castle Vaduz Castle (German language, German: ''Schloss Vaduz'') is the palace and official residence of the Monarchy of Liechtenstein, Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlo ...

, Gutenberg Castle does not serve as a residence of the princely family of Liechtenstein and is open to the general public as a museum. The castle lies on a 70 metre high free-standing rock near the centre of Balzers and is accessible via a street and road known as ''Burgweg''.

Etymology

The first written record of the castle's name dates to 1296.

Prehistory

The castle hill has been inhabited since the

Neolithic period The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

. Archaeological excavations have uncovered several prehistoric artifacts, including the ''Mars von Gutenberg'' figurine, now on display in the Liechtenstein National Museum.

History

Gutenberg Castle began its existence as a medieval

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

on a hilltop. In the early 12th century, the cemetery was cancelled and

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

of the former church structure slowly began with the addition of a ring wall, forming a simple, roughly circular

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 ...

. During the 12th century, several additions followed, particularly the creation of the

main tower Main Tower is a 56-storey, skyscraper in the Innenstadt (Frankfurt am Main), Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is named after the nearby Main (river), Main river. The building is when its antenna tower, antenna spire is included. ...

by raising the height of the existing keep. Later on, the tower was fitted with

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s. In the 12th and early 13th centuries, the castle was owned by the lords of Frauenberg, a noble family from the Swiss canton of Graubünden. After the death of Heinrich von Frauenburg in 1314, the castle became the property of the

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

. It was then used primarily for guarding the borderlands between the local Habsburg-owned territories and those belonging to the independent Swiss cantons. At the turn of the 15th century, the castle underwent extensive new construction works as part of an initiative by

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Maximilian I to repair the damage inflicted upon the castle by a siege in 1499, during the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin" in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg. What had begun ...

. Gutenberg Castle was equipped until 1537 with a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

, which had to be dismantled due to storm damage that year. It was never replaced. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle ceased to be used for military purposes and was damaged by several fires. It was still being used as a residence around 1750. After a fire in 1795 that greatly damaged Balzers, the castle ruins were used as a source of building material for the reconstruction of the town. The town castle purchased and slightly repaired the castle in 1824, then sold in 1854 to Princess Franziska of Liechtenstein. The castle underwent substantial restoration between 1905 and 1912, under the supervision of its new owner,

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

-born architect Egon Rheinberger. This restoration added a number of new structures and buildings to the lower parts of the castle (see ground plan in references section for more details). After Rheinberger's death in 1936, the municipality rented the castle for various events and guests, until it was offered for sale in 1951, where it was bought by Liechtenstein-born Mexican actress Medea de Novara and her husband Miguel Contreras Torres. In 1979, the castle was purchased by the Liechtenstein government for state and museum purposes. However, Novara held her inherited rights to live in the castle until her death in 2001.

Today

The bailey (''Vorburg'') of the castle is open to visitors free of charge all year round. The castle's

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

and

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

, reconstructed in 2010, are accessible free of charge every Sunday between 10:00 and 19:00 during the summer tourist season (1 May – 31 October). Guided tours of Gutenberg Castle and its renting for weddings and cultural events are available only during the summer tourist season and need to be arranged in advance by appointment.

Gallery

File:Balzers Schloss.jpg, Gutenberg Castle (March 2007) File:Balzers FL-Burg Gutenberg.JPG, Gutenberg Castle (May 2007) File:Burg Gutenberg - Balzers- Liechtenstein.jpg, Balzers, with castle hill in the background (2010) File:Balzers Burg Gutenberg.JPG, Close view of the castle hill from Balzers (June 2008)

References

External links

Gutenberg Castle Official Website
(in German) {{Castles in Liechtenstein Museums in Liechtenstein Balzers Castles in Liechtenstein