Wildenberg Castle (Zernez)

Planta-Wildenberg Castle is a castle in the municipality of Zernez of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The Wildenberg family was a cadet branch of the Greifenstein family of Filisur. In addition to the Wildenberg Castle in Falera, they owned castles and estates throughout the valleys of Graubünden. Wildenberg Castle in Zernez was first mentioned as the home of the family in 1280/90. In 1296 the Bishop of Chur took the right to collect tithes from Wildenberg and pledged it to the Lords of Planta. It is unclear if the castle went with the tithes, but by the 14th century Wildenberg was owned by the bishop and held by the Planta family. In 1365 representatives from the communities around Chur met for the first time at the castle under the auspices of the Planta family. The representatives met because they were concerned about the growing power of Tyrol and the bishop's debts. Two years after the meeting at Wildenberg and building off the 1365 agreements, they founded the League of God's House to curtail the bishop's power.

By around 1400 the branch of the Planta family at Wildenberg was using the name von Wildenberg or Planta-Wildenberg and held the castle as a permanent fief. They became very wealthy with lands and rights from the bishop as well as the mining concession in the Lower Engadine from Emperor Henry VII. While the Planta-Wildenberg family often loaned money to the bishop, their relationship was not always good. In 1430 Conradin von Planta-Wildenberg wrote and demanded the abdication of Bishop Johann von Chur, who in turn excommunicated Conradin. Late in the 15th century the Planta-Wildenberg family supported the bishop against the emperor. In 1498 Hans von Planta-Wildenberg signed a treaty between the League of God's House and the Swiss Confederation which sought to limit the power of the emperor. According to tradition, during the Swabian War of 1499 Hans von Planta-Wildenberg killed an imperial knight at the Battle of Calven.

In 1570 the chronicler Ulrich Campell described Wildenberg as a medieval castle with a central tower and three residential wings. The owner of the castle, Balthasar von Planta-Wildenberg had been married six times and had numerous children who helped increase the wealth and power of the family.

Text adapted from “Wildenberg Castle (Zernez)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wildenberg Castle (Zernez) ranks #6,383 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #148 of the 200 mapped in Switzerland. Founded 1280, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 24 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Graubünden. See how Switzerland compares in the castle statistics.

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