Switzerland · 10th century
Rhäzüns Castle (German: Schloss Rhäzüns) is a castle near Rhäzüns, Graubünden, Switzerland.
Rhäzüns Castle may be one of the oldest castles in Switzerland. In 960 Emperor Otto I traded a church in castello Beneduces et Ruzunnes (in the castle of Bonaduz and Rhäzüns) to the Bishop of Chur and a 976 document by Otto II confirms the trade and the existence of the castle. Over the following centuries the fortified church became a feudal castle and in 1139 Arnoldus de Ruzunne appears in the records as a Romansh noble, though the castle is first mentioned in 1282. During the 12th and 13th centuries the Rhäzüns family grew to become one of the most powerful noble families in the region, with Rhäzüns Castle remaining the center of their power. In 1343 they were powerful enough that a peace treaty between Disentis Abbey and Glarus was signed in the courtyard of Rhäzüns.
By the 1380s they had acquired land in Domleschg and around Heinzenberg Castle, which brought the counts into conflict with the Bishop of Chur. To protect themselves from the growing power of the bishop, on 14 February 1395, the three main nobles of the region (the abbot of Disentis Abbey, Johannes von Ilanz, Baron Ulrich II von Rhäzüns and Baron Albert von Sax-Misox) of the Vorderrhein together with delegates from the Court Municipalities in Ilanz created an "eternal alliance" known as the Ober Bund or Upper Alliance. The decades long conflict between the Bund and the bishop weakened the power of the Rhäzüns family and forced them to join the expanded Grey League in 1424. In 1458 the last member of the family, Georges Brun von Rhäzüns, died childless, starting a conflict between the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans and the von Zollern. Five years later, in 1473, the inheritance was finally settled and the castle as well as the extensive Rhäzüns lands passed to Niclas von Zollern.
Over the next centuries, the castle and its strategically important lands traded owners often. In 1473 Conradin von Marmels acquired the castle from the Zollerns, though they retained the right to repurchase it. In 1497 the pro-French Count Trivulzio tried to buy the castle, but was countered by the Habsburgs who acquired it along with membership in the Grey League. Two years later, during the Swabian War, Three Leagues troops occupied the castle to prevent it from becoming a Habsburg stronghold.
Text adapted from “Rhäzüns Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Rhäzüns castle ranks #5,797 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #75 of the 213 mapped in Switzerland. Founded 960, it is older than 92% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 193 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,290 times in the last 60 days, more than 57% of the atlas. 15 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Winterthur, 93 km away. It is one of the 26 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Graubünden. See how Switzerland compares in the castle statistics.
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