Alt Rapperswil Castle
Altendorf Castle (Swiss German: Ruine Altendorf) was a castle in the municipality of Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz.
| Altendorf; Alt-Rapperswil | |
|---|---|
  Location within Switzerland | |
| General information | |
| Classification | ruined historic monument |
| Town or city | Altendorf |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 47.184953°N 8.841181°E |
| Construction started | before 1200 AD |
| Completed | unknown; destroyed in 1350 AD |
Geography
The ruins respectively a chapel built at the castle's former location is situated on the western lakeshore of Obersee (Zürichsee) on a hill towards the Etzel (mountain) in Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland
History
Altendorf appears as "Rahprehteswilare" for the first time in a document of emperor Otto II, in which goods of the Einsiedeln Abbey were confirmed on 14 August 972. Rahprehteswilare means hamlet or village of Raprecht, named after a probably Alemanni nobleman in the 7th or 8th century AD. After the establishment of the present Rapperswil around 1200 AD, the village with the church of St. Michael was renamed "vetus villa Rapperswile" (literally: old town Rapperswil) and the castle was called "die vestize der alten Rapreswile" (literally: the fortress of the old House of Rapperswil). To the middle of the 15th century AD, for the first time the name "zu dem alten Dorfe" (literally: to the old village) was mentioned from which the name "Altendorf" (literally: old village) arose.[1]
Alt-Rapperswil (literally: old Rapperswil, named after the House of Rapperswil) was built, before the later Counts of Rapperswil moved from Altendorf across the lake to the other side of the so-called Seedamm area. The counts of Rapperswil had possessions in what is now Eastern and Central Switzerland, and they acted as Vögte of the Einsiedeln Abbey since the 11th century AD, as therefore the castle may have been built as seat of the Vogt, in addition to the nearby later fortification in Pfäffikon, that was owned by the Einsiedeln abbey.
When the castle was completed is unknown. From the previously known, patchy history of the House of Rapperswil only conjectures may done: Certainly it was built well before the year 1200 AD, maybe in 972 or earlier, from which the aforementioned document dates. However, the castle was destroyed along with the Rapperswil Castle by Rudolf Brun's troops in 1350, as an attempted coup by the aristocratic opposition (a central person was Count Johann II) in the city of Zürich was forcefully put down: the town walls of Rapperswil were broken, as well as Alt-Rapperswil and the Rapperswil castle were destroyed by Rudolf Brun's troops. Thus, Rapperswil was rebuilt by Albrecht II, Duke of Austria in 1352/54, the ruins in Altendorf may not have been rebuilt, and later the property and its rights passed over to the city of Zürich.
Nevertheless, the chapel and the ruined remains are a Swiss heritage site of national significance as Class A objects of national importance.[2]
See also
Literature
- Roger Sablonier: Gründungszeit ohne Eidgenossen: Politik und Gesellschaft in der Innerschweiz um 1300. hier + jetzt, Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-03919-085-0.
References
- "Geschichte" (in German). Gemeinde Altendorf. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
- "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar" (PDF). Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2015-01-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2015-09-14.