Gutenberg Castle

Gutenberg Castle
Long before Gutenberg Castle was built, the rock head was used by the people who lived here. The oldest archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC). Nine found bronze statuettes from the younger Iron Age (5th-1st century BC), the so-called Gutenberg votive statuettes, indicate a pre-Christian sanctuary on Gutenberg.
A cemetery was laid out from the 7th century. The chapel of St. Donatus, demolished in the 18th century, was probably built at the same time.
The medieval castle itself was probably built around 1200. From the end of the 13th century it was owned by the Barons of Frauenberg from Graubünden. From 1314 to 1824 it was owned by the House of Habsburg. During this time, the fortress was besieged several times, e.g. in the Swabian War (1499) or during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), but was always able to hold out. After 1750 the fortress was no longer inhabited, was left to decay and became a ruin.
In 1905, the Vaduz architect and sculptor Egon Rheinberger (1870-1936) acquired the badly damaged complex and expanded it by 1910 in the spirit of castle romance to give it its current appearance. Together with his wife Maria he ran an inn on Gutenberg from 1920 until his death in 1936. During this time, numerous concerts and events took place, making the castle a cultural stronghold in the region.
After several changes of ownership - engineer Otto Haas with his family and then the filmmaker couple Hermine Kindle de Contreras Torres and Miguel Contreras Torres - the castle complex came into the possession of the state of Liechtenstein through purchase in 1979.
Text: Municipality of Balzers
balzers.li/de/balzers-erleben/kultur-und-geschichte/burg-gutenberg/tblid/343

A beautiful castle. Like something out of a picture book.