Marschlins Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the village of

Igis Igis ''( Romansh: Eigias)'' is a former municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Far better known than its proper name Igis is its hamlet Landquart, because of its Rail Station and motorway exit. The munic ...

of 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 ...

of Landquart of the

Canton of Graubünden The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label=Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Surmiran, (Can ...

in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Marschlins Castle was the childhood home of feminist Meta von Salis.

History

The castle was built in the 13th century, though there may have been 11th or 12th century castles on the site and local legend claims it dates back to the

Carolingian era The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the L ...

. However, the 13th century castle was probably built for the

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').Savoyard style, a square castle with corner towers, one of which is enlarged to serve as the

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') 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 ...

. This style of castle is unique in Graubünden and how the design was imported is unknown. One theory for a Savoy connection is that between 1233 and 1237 the Bishop of Chur was Ulrich IV of Kyburg whose brother Hartmann IV was married to Margarethe of Savoy. The castle was first mentioned on 12 May 1324 as the death place of the knight Jacob von Marmels. In 1336 the Bishop and Count Ulrich von Montfort were quarreling over the castle, which was decided by the courts in the Bishop's favor. However, in the following year he granted the castle as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) 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 f ...

to Duke

Albert II of Austria Albert II (12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' or ''the Lame'', a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his de ...

. The Austrian duke granted it to several of his knights, until on 3 October 1354 it was granted to the

Counts of Toggenburg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

in exchange for their support against

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

and the

Old Swiss Confederation 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 ...

. After the death of the last Count of Toggenburg, Frederick VII, in 1436 the fief passed back to the Austrians who granted it to the Brandis family to hold for the Bishop of Chur. In 1442 they used the castle as

collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

for a loan from Heinrich von Sigberg. In 1460 the castle was partly destroyed in a fire. Because of the complex ownership (owned by the Bishop of Chur, granted as a fief to the Brandis family, collateral to the Sigberg family), a quarrel broke out between the Brandis and Sigberg families over the cost of repairs. A mediator from the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Griso ...

determined that the Brandis family needed to repay the loan and that the repair costs would be shared equally. In 1462 the Duke of Austria acquired the castle and estates from the Bishop of Chur and sold it to Ulrich von Brandis, who began rebuilding. In 1467 the duke expanded the estates attached to Marschlins by adding Malans,

Untervaz Untervaz is a municipality in the Landquart Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Untervaz is first mentioned between 768-800 as ''Uaze''. Between 801-850 it was mentioned as ''Vazes'' and between 1210-1300 it was called ''Vatz in ...

and

Valzeina Valzeina is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a former municipality in the political district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2011 Fanas and Valzeina were merged with the municipality of Grüsch. History Val ...

. In 1498 the Brandis family began trying to sell the castle and estates, but the outbreak of the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( gsw, Schwoobechrieg (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 Hab ...

in the following year broke the deal. After the war, in 1509, they

pawned A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

the castle to Ulrich Goeldin and in 1518 the Gugelberg family bought it outright. Around 1600 the moat was drained.

In 1633 the rather dilapidated structure was acquired by Ulysses von Salis, a member of the Salis-Soglio family, who adopted the name Salis-Marschlins. He had made his fortune as a French French ''

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general (French: ''sergent-major général''). S ...

''. Two years later he began renovating the castle and turned it from a more military fortification into an elegant house with a

french garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

. In 1771 the bell tower on the chapel was added. From 1771 until 1777 the castle became a philanthropinist school. Later, it was a tobacco factory and a

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

spinning mill Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

. After the

French invasion of Switzerland The French invasion of Switzerland (French: ''Campagne d'Helvétie'', German: ''Franzoseneinfall'') occurred from January to May 1798 as part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The independent Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed from the invasion and s ...

the castle became an army camp. A total of about 10,000 soldiers and 3,000 horse passed through the castle between March 1799 and December 1800. In 1905 the Salis family had the castle rebuilt under the guidance of the architect Eugen Probst. Probst, the controversial founder of 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 ...

, made little effort to preserve the historic structures or preserve the medieval appearance of Marschlins. An additional floor was added to the tower and many new windows were added. After the death of Meta von Salis-Marschlins, the last offspring of her branch, the castle was inherited by the Maienfeld branch of the Salis family who sold it in 1934. Today the castle is still privately owned. Since 2020 it is put up for sale, together with its agricultural estate.domusantiqua.ch of 30 August 2020
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Castle site

The castle is located about north-east of Igis village, on a flat plain but about from a steep cliff. The castle is surrounded by two moats which were filled with water during the Middle Ages. Originally the moats were spanned 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 ...

, which was replaced with a stone bridge in the 17th century. It is rectangular and about in size. Each corner has a round tower with the in diameter south tower being the largest and main tower. The other three towers are in diameter. The oldest residence building in the castle is on the north side. The current

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...

like gate is in the center of the western wall, but was originally further south. In the courtyard is a cannon from the Salis regiment from 1676. There are three highly decorated, 17th century furnished rooms in the castle. The ''Marschallstübli'' was built around 1633 and features richly carved

paneling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make ro ...

with inlaid

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

and a carved wooden

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed ceiling. The

cocklestove A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature ...

was built in 1638 by the Pfau workshop and the cabinets decorated with the alliance

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Heinrich Hirzel-Yolanda von Salis are from 1674. The ''Offiziersstube'' was completed in 1638 and is paneled in stone pine. The coffered ceiling is decorated with a carved Salis coat of arms. A

Steckborn Steckborn is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Frauenfeld District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is located on the south-western arm of Lake Constance known in German as the Untersee (Lake Con ...

oven from the first half of the 18th century warmed the room. The third room, the ''Goldene Stübli'' in the north-east tower was completed around 1670. The carved paneling is painted with hunting scenes. The coffered roof is decorated with 43 constellations and the four winds. The room is decorated with a collection of

gothic sculpture Gothic sculpture was a sculpture style that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages, from about mid-12th century to the 16th century,The chronology of the period varies significantly according to the source consulted evolving from Romanesque s ...

s. The chapel was built in the main tower in 1771. The interior is decorated with paintings of the Four Evangelists from the mid-17th century and with stained glass from the same era.

Gallery

CH-NB - Igis, Schloss Marschlins, Tour, vue partielle - Collection Max van Berchem - EAD-7043.tif, Photograph of the castle around 1900 Marschlins Ansicht Südseite.jpg, Castle seen from the south Marschlins Hauptturm.jpg, Main tower

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marschlins Castle Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Castles in Graubünden

History

Castle site

Gallery

See also

References