Alt Homberg Castle | |
---|---|
Ruine Alt Homberg | |
Wittnau, Aargau in Switzerland | |
Coordinates | 47°29′28″N7°58′23″E / 47.491056°N 7.972999°E Coordinates: 47°29′28″N7°58′23″E / 47.491056°N 7.972999°E |
Type | Ruined castle |
Site information | |
Condition | Portions visible |
Site history | |
Built | around 1100 |
Alt Homberg Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Wittnau in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The castle is classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. [1]
Alt Homberg was built around 1100 for the Counts of Homberg on a triangular hilltop north of the village of Wittnau. [2] The first recorded Count of Homberg, Rudolf, appears in a record in 1082 when he married Ita von Habsburg. In 1225 the Homberg line died out and the castle was inherited by the Counts of Frohburg. Over the following years a cadet line of the Frohburg family took the name Neu-Homberg and established a new castle Neu-Homburg near Läufelfingen. In 1323 the last Count of Neu-Homberg, Werner III, died and the castle was inherited by Countess Maria von Oettingen. She sold it on 8 August 1351 to Duke Albrecht of Austria for 400 Marks. On 18 October 1356 the castle was destroyed in the Basel earthquake. [3] After the earthquake the chapel and portions of the castle were quickly rebuilt, but by 1486 it was recorded as the barren castle of Weitnauw. [4] The castle was excavated in 1882-84. Many of the artifacts, dating from the 11th to 15th centuries, are on display in the Historical Museum of Lenzburg Castle.
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