Tegerfelden Castle

The Tegerfelden ruin is the ruin of a former hilltop castle in Switzerland. It is located in the municipality of Tegerfelden in the canton of Aargau on a rocky outcrop of the Ruckfeld. Today the castle is dilapidated and only a few remnants remain.

Little is known about the origins of Tegerfelden Castle. It was built towards the end of the 11th century and was owned by the Barons of Tegerfelden, a noble family that died out in the male line with the death of Walter III von Tegerfelden (last mentioned in documents in 1254). Ita, Walther's heiress daughter, and her husband Ulrich von Klingen already took over the paternal inheritance in 1236. In the first construction phase, only the manor house was made of stone, the other buildings were made of wood. The castle was probably secured with a palisade and two moats on the mountain side of the castle. At the end of the 12th century, the castle was destroyed by fire, but rebuilt. The tower, the curtain wall and another building were made of stone, and there were two half-timbered houses with plinth walls. At the beginning of the 13th century, a half-timbered house with a basement was added as an extension. Already in 1269, Tegerfelden Castle is first referred to as a ruin in documents. It is mentioned that Walther von Klingen, with the consent of his wife and daughters, sold "his estate in Tegerfelden, where the castle stood years ago, which is now still surrounded by a bulwark" to Bishop Eberhard of Constance. The castle was probably destroyed in a fire around 1250 and then not rebuilt.