Wulp Castle

Wulp
	Küsnacht
	Ruins of Wulp Castle
	Wulp Wulp
Coordinates	47°19′17.7″N8°36′21.1″E / 47.321583°N 8.605861°E Coordinates: 47°19′17.7″N8°36′21.1″E / 47.321583°N 8.605861°E
Type	hill castle
Code	CH-ZH
Height	570 m above the sea
Site information
Condition	ruin

Last updated February 24, 2019

The ruins of Wulp Castle (German : Ruine Wulp or Burg Wulp) is a castle located besides Küsnachter Tobel in the municipality of Küsnacht and the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. It was built during the high Middle Ages.^[1] Despite this, the castle is documented only in a few found texts, and much of the castle's history is not known.^[1] However, in the chronicle of Muri Abbey, a castle that could perhaps fit Ruine Wulp's description - a castle in proximity to Zurich and Lake Zurich - was mentioned, but this has not been confirmed by other findings and is mere speculation.^[1] Also, a person named Eghart of Küsnacht was mentioned in the chronicle and several other documents to be the owner of the castle in the late 11th century.^[2]

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

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.

Küsnachter Tobel is a small river canyon respective gorge on the southwestern slope of the Pfannenstiel mountain in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

History

While no cemented and sure truth about the castle can be confirmed, progress has been made, including the finding of Bronze Age remnants after the excavation of the castle site, such as palisades.^[2]

The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, and in some areas proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, for classifying and studying ancient societies.

A palisade—sometimes called a stakewall or a paling—is typically a fence or wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks and used as a defensive structure or enclosure.

Other items have been uncovered about the castle's past, such as the altering of the castle in the 13th century, when it is presumed that most or all of the castle was replaced with a single tower and a central building, with only sections of the main wall still existing.^[1] After an unknown period of time, the Barons von Regensberg are known to have assumed ownership of Ruine Wulp, and also are known to have made plans to completely renovate the castle, but the plans probably were never realised.

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Excavation

The castle and the castle site were excavated and conserved in 1920 - 1923, 1961–1962, 1978 and 1980 - 1982. The task was performed by the adornment association Küsnacht, and in 1923, the area and castle were placed under the protection and responsibility of the federation.^[1]

Downfall of the castle

Several theories exist about how the castle may have come to an end, and historians are in debate.^[1] Some theories include:

The Barons von Regensberg destroyed the castle for an unspecified or unknown reason, or they demolished it with the intent of building a new castle that was never finished.
The castle was destroyed in 1267 by the inhabitants of Zurich. This theory is confirmed by several old documents, but by no other found evidence.^{[ citation needed ]}
The castle was abandoned sometime in the late 13th century, and deteriorated over time.^[1]

Currently

Little remains of the castle, and only small and insignificant ruins of the tower foundation and main wall can be defined clearly.^[2] However, the ruins have been adequately preserved since the first excavations.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "www.geocaching.com" . Retrieved 8 April 2007.
1 2 3 "www.burgen.ch" . Retrieved 8 April 2007.

External links

Media related to Burg Wulp at Wikimedia Commons
Other Information on the Castle

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[wik-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "www.geocaching.com" . Retrieved 8 April 2007.

[bur-2] 1 2 3 "www.burgen.ch" . Retrieved 8 April 2007.