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Graubünden

Schauenstein Castle

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Switzerland

Graubünden

Schauenstein Castle

Recommended by 11 hikers out of 12

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Location: Graubünden, Switzerland

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Best Hikes to Schauenstein Castle

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1. Fürstenau Old Town – Schauenstein Castle loop from Marktplatz

4.37km

01:15

110m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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2. Fürstenau Old Town – Canovasee loop from Rothenbrunnen

19.2km

05:23

370m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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3. Ant Bench – Bardill's Atelier loop from Rodels-Realta

12.2km

03:24

220m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

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Paul

August 30, 2023

Fürstenau - town in miniature

An episcopal Meierhof as the origin of Fürstenau

The episcopal power in Domleschg was probably already developed in the epoch of the Frankish Empire, in the first millennium. The incompletely preserved Reichsurbar (list of goods and taxes of the imperial rule) from 831 shows that a ministry Tumliasca (bishop's administrative apparatus Domleschg) existed. This faced a vicedominus with judicial authority. It is conceivable that the episcopal administration was originally based in Hohenrätien ob Sils i.D. had, but had been moved to one of the three Carolingian royal courts of Scharans, Almens and Tomils early on. Presumably an administrative officer (Meier) of the bishop took up residence in Baumgartenland Maros near Fürstenau. The name Maros goes back to the Latin word ad majoranem, the accusative of maiora (= dairy farm or farmstead). From this, the name Mairaus developed via ad maioranes, which as a name for Fürstenau first appears in documents in the first half of the 12th century.

The development of the city

In the course of the 14th century, the sovereign large castle acquired a modest urban character as a result of the denser settlement of the outer bailey. A document from 1383 testifies that the main castle was in front of the bridge to a bailey (lat. atrium). Peasant and artisan subjects lived here, who were responsible for the supply of the lords of the castle, and, as the House of Stoffel shows, apparently also knightly servants.

Architectural and political developments are interrelated. In the middle of the 14th century, the diocese of Chur not only managed to obtain market privileges, but also a place of jurisdiction for blood justice. King Charles IV had Bishop Ulrich V (1331-1355) present a diploma on May 13, 1354, which gave Fürstenau the right to jail, sticks and gallows, as well as the holding of two annual markets on St. Michael's and St. George's Day . This meant that Fürstenau had also become a city in a legal sense. Its expansion from 1354 coincides with that of the castle mentioned in 1272.

The town was not only of great importance as a trading and market place, it had also risen to become the center of princely possessions in the upper part of the Domleschg. So the castle has clearly proven itself as a strong attraction.

Around 1300, a territorialization process began in the Graubünden area, which had a significant influence on political events up until after 1450. Noble dominions such as that of the Lords of Rhäzüns supplemented or overlaid the episcopal dominion. Neither party had a closed territory.

As early as the first half of the 14th century, Fürstenau was drawn into the maelstrom of the episcopal power struggles. The few surviving documentary mentions of Fürstenau should be seen in this context: In 1333 the bishop promised the lords of Rhäzüns 1000 marks, four hundred of them through Fürstenau Castle, which was then pledged. In 1347 the castle served as security so that the bishop would go back into the captivity of the Count of Tyrol, from which he had been released. Fürstenau was then handed over to Walter von Stadion. In 1351 an arbitral tribunal had to decide the dispute over Fürstenau Castle between the bishop and the Counts of Montfort. Finally, in 1367, Fürstenau was occupied by the cathedral chapter and the bishop's vassals. In 1387 it regained great importance in connection with the expansion of the Septimer Pass by Johann von Castelmur.

Text: City of Fürstenau

fuerstenau.ch/Portrait/History

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 720 m

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Location: Graubünden, Switzerland

Schauenstein Castle

1. Fürstenau Old Town – Schauenstein Castle loop from Marktplatz

2. Fürstenau Old Town – Canovasee loop from Rothenbrunnen

3. Ant Bench – Bardill's Atelier loop from Rodels-Realta

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