Friedau Castle (Ruin) (Zizers)

The ruin of Friedau Castle stands in the municipality of Zizers in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, not far from the train station, in the middle of a residential area.

Of the once larger complex with an outer bailey, only a strong square tower with a side length of approx. 12 m remains. The outlines of the original complex are no longer recognizable; the surroundings have been built over. The west and east walls show a strong crack, and the walls are partially somewhat inclined. The high entrance is on the 2nd floor of the east wall. On the 2nd and 3rd floors are windows with window seats, and in the north wall are narrow loopholes and wall niches on the inside. A wooden upper story is to be assumed above the stone tower. The interior of the tower is not accessible.

Excavations in 2002 revealed a Neolithic settlement at this site. The castle was built over an early medieval manor house, which Otto the Great had given to the Bishop of Chur in 955. In the middle of the 13th century, the court was converted into a castle; according to the "Buoch der vestinen", Bishop Volkard von Neuburg began construction (her Volart byschoff huob an ze buwen) and Bishop Heinrich von Monfort (1251 – 72) completed it. Between 1358 and 1430, the Friedau was pledged several times, especially to the Toggenburgers. It remained in episcopal hands until 1649, when it was sold to the High Court of the Four Villages, which used the tower as a prison.

Around 1550, the chronicler Ulrich Campell still saw the tower surrounded by a wall and a moat. Until around 1880, the tower still had a wooden roof, though not the original one.

During a village fire in the 1980s, the tower completely burned out, which also caused the cracks in the walls. Since then, it has been a ruin.