The history of Heerbrugg Castle
From the Romans to today
Heerbrugg Castle is undoubtedly the origin of Heerbrugg. Apparently a fort already existed in Roman times, on whose foundation walls the fortress "Herburch" was built in 1077, but which later burned down. The existing castle without a tower dates from around 1775. Until 1796 Heerbrugg consisted only of the castle with three houses. The plain was completely uninhabited.
The history of Heerbrugg Castle is also linked to the history of the Schmidheiny entrepreneurial dynasty. The story of the successful family began with the purchase of the castle by Jacob Schmidheiny I in 1867.
Peter Schmidheiny died on February 15, 2001. The community of heirs sold the castle on December 9, 2004, after lengthy negotiations, starting on January 1, 2005, to the brothers Peter and Leo von Rotz from Heerbrugg.
Peter von Rotz bought the share from brother Leo von Rotz on January 1, 2006.