Dübelstein Castle (Ruin) (Dübendorf)

The Dübelstein ruin is located near the city of Dübendorf in the Swiss canton of Zurich on the northern slope of the Adlisberg.

In 1130, the name of the Lords of Dübendorf was mentioned for the first time. In the 13th century, the family was entrusted with the supervision of the town of Dübendorf. A few years after the castle was built, in 1257, a family member, Konrad von Dübelstein, then Tuobelnstein, first called himself by that name. The castle had a massive keep with walls up to three meters thick.

The lineage of the Lords of Dübelstein died out around 1314, and the castle passed to the Lords of Hofstetten until 1402. Later, Dübelstein changed owners several times. During the Old Zurich War, the then castellan of Dübelstein had to surrender the castle without a fight to the advancing Schwyz troops in 1444 to spare his men. The Schwyz devastated the complex, but the castle was rebuilt shortly thereafter.

In 1487, the then mayor of Zurich, Hans Waldmann, bought the castle and its manorial rights from the Werdenbergers. After his execution, it was plundered and destroyed again in April 1489. The city of Zurich confiscated the castle and lordship, along with Waldmann's other possessions. The later mayor of Zurich, Rudolf Escher, made the castle habitable again from 1489 to 1496.

On May 27, 1611, Dübelstein was almost completely destroyed by a fire when a maid was drying flax by the fire. Since the tower was not severely damaged, it continued to be inhabited. During the 17th century, Dübelstein was abandoned and used as a quarry.

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Hans Waldmann's death, the complex was acquired in 1889 by the Waldmann Exhibition Committee, and a memorial site for Hans Waldmann was created. On October 4, 1891, the committee donated the castle hill to the city citizens' community of Zurich for the benefit of the municipal utility. The ruin was excavated and conserved from 1942 to 1943. The listed ruin hill was sold in 1998 for the symbolic price of one franc to the Pro Waldmannsburg association.