Spaniola Castle

Spaniola Castle
	Tuor
	Pontresina
	Ruins of Spaniola
	Spaniola Castle Spaniola Castle
Coordinates	46°29′21.46″N9°54′35.50″E / 46.4892944°N 9.9098611°E Coordinates: 46°29′21.46″N9°54′35.50″E / 46.4892944°N 9.9098611°E
Type	hill castle
Code	CH-GR
Height	1,878 m above the sea
Site information
Condition	ruin
Site history
Built	around 1200

Last updated February 23, 2019

Spaniola Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Pontresina of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages by predominantly the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

Municipalities are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confederation. In most cantons municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions.

Pontresina is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

History

The tower was built around 1200 for the local noble Pontresina family and originally was known by that name. The village first appeared in 1137 as ad Pontern Sarisinam.^[1] The Pontresina family was probably fairly wealthy and powerful in the early 13th century, but often quarreled with the Bishop of Chur. They are first mentioned in 1244 when they were stripped the office of chancery over the Upper Engadine by the bishop.^[2] They apparently later regained the office because in 1294 they pledged it to the Planta family. Their fortunes quickly declined and the last member of the family is mentioned in 1307, with the castle going to the Murell family.^[3]

The Bishop of Chur is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland.

Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany and Austria. Chancery hand is a term for various types of handwriting associated with chanceries.

A pledge is a bailment that conveys possessory title to property owned by a debtor to a creditor to secure repayment for some debt or obligation and to the mutual benefit of both parties. The term is also used to denote the property which constitutes the security. A pledge is type of security interest.

Pontresina Castle was abandoned by the 15th century. In 1550 Ulrich Campell records that the castle is a ruin. In the 18th or 19th century it started to be referred to as Spaniola. The tower was repaired and strengthened in 1994.

Castle site

Spaniola is located on a hill near the village of Pontresina. It is a five sided bergfried (a tower not designed for permanent habitation) that is still four stories tall. The unusual five sided shape may have been an attempt by the builder to protect the castle from rock slides or avalanches, the pointed side faces the mountain. The original high entrance was located on the second story of the south-west wall. The tower was crowned by with crenallations and probably had a pyramidal roof in the center. Wooden balconies or a platform surrounded the upper level. It was probably surrounded by a small ring wall which enclosed a 15 by 15 meters (49 ft × 49 ft) space.^[3]

A bergfried is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German influence. Friar describes it as a "free-standing, fighting-tower". Its defensive function is to some extent similar to that of a keep in English or French castles. However, the characteristic difference between a bergfried and a keep is that a bergfried was typically not designed for permanent habitation.

Battlement part of defensive architecture

A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet, in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. These gaps are termed "crenels", and the act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons. A wall with battlements is said to be crenelated or embattled. Battlements on walls have protected walkways behind them. On tower or building tops, the roof is used as the protected fighting platform.

A tented roof is a type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, were widely used to cover churches with steep, conical roof structures.

Gallery

The tower in 1870
Pontresina village and the castle
High entrance on the south-west side
Crenallations on the top of the tower

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References

↑ Pontresina in German , French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland .
↑ "Burgturm Spaniola". www.swisscastles.ch. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
1 2 "Burg Spaniola". www.burgenwelt.ch. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

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[HDS-1] Pontresina in German , French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland .

[SC-2] "Burgturm Spaniola". www.swisscastles.ch. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

[BW-3] 1 2 "Burg Spaniola". www.burgenwelt.ch. Retrieved 1 May 2017.