Pfeffingen Castle () is a

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 Pfeffingen of the canton of Basel-Land 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 ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Pfeffingen Castle is one of the largest castle ruins in the Basel-Land canton. The area around Aesch and Pfeffingen was originally home to a

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

n royal court. However, no remains have persisted since this time. In 1135 Notker von Pfeffingen was mentioned for the first time, which was probably a reference to Count von Saugers. At the end of the 12th century, the Pfeffingen castle fell to the Count of Thierstein. In 1212 a family of Schaffner von Pfeffingen, who lived in the castle, was mentioned for the first time. In the mid-13th century the castle was comprehensively rebuilt. At this time, the curtain wall and the large residential tower were built. In 1335, the

Bishop of Basel The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...

besieged the castle without success. In 1356, the

Basel Earthquake The 1356 Basel earthquake is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and had a moment magnitude in the range of 6.0–7.1.Habsburgs 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 ...

and Swiss armies (during the

Old Zürich War The Old Zurich War (; 1440–1446) was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg died, leaving nei ...

). In 1520, the Mayor of Basel

Jakob Meyer zum Hasen Jakob Meyer zum Hasen (1482 in Basel – 1531 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was the bürgermeister of the city of Basel from 1516 to 1521. A money changer by profession, he was the first bürgermeister of Basel to be a tradesman, belonging to a gui ...

raided the castle with about two hundred men. The castle, heavily damaged by the numerous wars, could not be maintained. In 1571, a new residential building was built as a replacement for the old residential tower, and a tower-defended gate and a bridge were built in the eastern part of the complex. During the Thirty Years′ War in 1637 the castle was occupied by Swedish troops under

Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (; 16 August 160418 July 1639) was a German prince and general in the Thirty Years' War. Biography Born in Weimar in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Dorothea Mar ...

and, eleven years later, was left (in very poor condition) to the bishop. Around 1750 the castle was finally abandoned by the Blarer family of Wartensee, who moved to Aesch Castle. Afterwards, a hermit lived temporarily in the castle. In 1761, the castle was auctioned for demolition and then fell rapidly. After preparatory work in 2011 and 2012, construction work began in May 2013, overseen by ZPF Ingenieure. As the lime mortar that is used there can only be worked with when there is no frost, i.e. in the warmer half of the year, the work was projected to take around six years. As the largest and most seriously damaged part of the ruins, the residential tower was to be reconstructed first, with a particular focus on sealing the coping and structurally securing unstable sections. The goal of the work was to repair the existing damage and to preserve the historical structure.

References

External links

*
Pfeffingen Castle Ruine on Spotting History.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeffingen Castle Cultural property of national significance in Basel-Landschaft Ruined castles in Switzerland Castles in Basel-Landschaft

See also

References

External links