Riom 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 Riom-Parsonz (part of the

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

of Surses) of the Canton of Graubünden in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

Riom was inhabited during the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, from the 1st century through the 4th. During this time, it was a

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

or way-station along the

Julier Pass The Julier Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass dal Güglia'', German: ''Julierpass'', Italian ''Passo del Giulia'') (el. 2284 m) is a mountain pass in Switzerland, in the Albula Alps. It connects the Engadin valley with central Graubünden, the nearest inhab ...

road. After the

Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Ancient Rome, Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rul ...

, farmers and herders continued to live here during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. In 840 it was personally owned by the king of Raetia Curiensis and was a local administrative center as well as the site of major church. The church was given by King Arnulf to a vassal of his named Ruotpert, who in 904 traded it to Lorsch Abbey. Riom and the surrounding lands eventually passed to the Knights of Wangen-Burgeis in the early 13th century and around 1226 they built Riom Castle. The original castle consisted of a slender, tall

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...

and an attached two-story

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

. Not long after, a third story was added to the palas. These buildings were surrounded with a

ring wall A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two fortified towers or bastions of a castle, fortress, or town. Ancient fortifications Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the historical ...

. The gatehouse was demolished in the past few centuries and no trace of it remains. The castle and surrounding estates were sold by Berall von Wangen in 1258 to the Bishop of Chur for 300 silver Marks. However, to purchase the estates the Bishop had to put the castle up 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 ...

to secure a loan from the

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von Vaz. In 1275 the Bishop paid off the loan and made Riom the center of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Oberhalbstein. Tolls and taxes from trade over the Julier and

Septimer Pass Septimer Pass (German: ''Septimerpass'', Italian: ''Passo del Settimo'', Romansh: ''Pass da Sett''; elevation ) is a high mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden in the Swiss Alps between the valleys of Bregaglia (Bergell) and Surses (Ober ...

es brought a steady stream of money into the castle. By the early 14th century the Marmels family were the

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

s of Riom, a post they held until 1426. During the 15th and 16th centuries a number of other noble Graubünden families were bailiffs at Riom. In 1468 Bishop Ortlieb von Brandis angered the League of God's House. They assembled an army, attacked several of the Bishop's estates, including Riom and

Greifenstein Greifenstein is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range. It was named for the castle of the same name in th ...

, and occupied them. The Bishop was forced to ask the city of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

to intervene. Zürich negotiated with the League and convinced them to return the castles to the Bishop. The Ilanzer Article of 1526 eliminated the worldly power of the Bishop, but change came slowly to the valley. In 1552 the communities of Surses bought their freedom from the Bishop, eliminating the need for a bailiff in the castle. Over the following centuries, the castle was used as the meeting place for the Landsgemeinde. The Surses high court continued to meet in the castle and during any witch trials the accused witches were held and tortured in the castle. In 1867 a fire destroyed much of the village, though the castle was preserved. However, the need for wood to rebuild was so dire that the roofs and floors were stripped out of the castle. Without protection from the elements the castle began to deteriorate until the palas and bergfried roofs were replaced in the 20th century.

Castle site

The large three story palas is about . After the fire in 1867 the old roof and floors were stripped off the castle, allowing rain in and damaging the walls. Originally the walls were crowned with merlons, in 1977 when a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

was added to protect the walls the merlons were removed. The old second story entrance into the palas is located on the south side and is accessible via a wooden stairway. A ground level entrance was added in the 1930s. The bergfried is a six story tower that is only at the ground. The tower was never intended to be permanently occupied, instead it was built to defend the castle. The thick walls and narrow firing slits made the interior very cramped. The tower roof was stripped after the 1867 fire and replaced with a new roof in 1936. In 2006 a theater with 220 seats opened in the palas and every summer is home to the ''Origen Festival Cultural'', a Romansh cultural festival.

References

External links

Riom Castle
at ETHorama
Origen Festival Cultural
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riom Castle Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Castles in Graubünden Articles containing video clips

History

Castle site

See also

References

External links