Zwing Uri is a ruined medieval

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 ...

north of

Amsteg Silenen is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. Geography Silenen municipality comprises the villages of Silenen (divided into three parts, Dörfli, Russ, Rusli), Amsteg, and Acherli, besides numerous smaller hamlets or dispersed ...

, today in the territory 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' ...

Silenen Silenen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Uri, Uri in Switzerland. Geography Silenen municipality comprises the villages of Silenen (divided into three parts, Dörfli, Russ, Rusli) ...

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 ...

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...

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. The castle is notable for its role in

Swiss historiography The historiography of Switzerland is the study of the history of Switzerland. Early accounts of the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy are found in the numerous Swiss chronicles of the 14th to 16th centuries. As elsewhere in Europe, these l ...

as the first fortress destroyed in the ''

Burgenbruch The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure t ...

'' at the beginning of the

Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. The

slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

of Zwing Uri (''Twing Üren'') is mentioned in the ''

White Book of Sarnen The ''White Book of Sarnen'' () is a collection of medieval manuscripts compiled in the late 15th century by Hans Schriber, state secretary (''Landschreiber'') in the Swiss Confederation canton Obwalden. This volume, 258 pages in length, was give ...

'', a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by the ''

Chronicon Helveticum The ''Chronicon Helveticum'' (Latin for "Swiss Chronicle") is one of the oldest accounts of the early history of the Swiss Confederation. The rough draft of the ''Chronicon Helveticum'' was written by Swiss historian Aegidius Tschudi in 1550.Ber ...

'' (1570). The site had been occupied since the Bronze Age. By 1150, there had been a farmstead with three buildings. By the early 13th century, the dwelling was replaced by a defensive tower. During the period of 1310 to 1320, the tower was still standing, and there are traces of a planned expansion into a full castle with a ring wall and a moat. This expansion was interrupted at about six weeks into the construction work, and the castle was abandoned in ca. 1320, i.e. 13 years after the traditional date of the ''Burgenbruch''. The site remained unoccupied until 1868, when a restaurant was built, using stones from the ruin. The remains were secured in 1928, when the ruin was acquired by 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 ...

''. Archaeological excavations of the ruin were performed in 1978.W. Meyer et al., ''Die bösen Türnli: Archäologische Beiträge zur Burgenforschung in der Urschweiz'', Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, vol. 11, Olten / Freiburg i.Br., 1984. W. Meyer (ed), ''Burgen der Schweiz'', vol. 1, Zürich, 1981.

References

{{Coord, 46, 46, 28, N, 8, 40, 14, E, region:CH_type:landmark, display=title Castles in the canton of Uri Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Uri

See also

References