Grottenstein Castle (Ruin) (Haldenstein)

The ruin is located in the south of the municipality in a spacious balme (rock overhang) at the foot of the Calanda rock face. It is one of the three castles in the municipality, alongside Lichtenstein Castle and Haldenstein Castle. It can be easily reached from the village in a good half hour via a narrow road (no driving) and a mountain path.

The name of the castle first appears with the chroniclers Fortunat Sprecher (1617) and Nicolin Sererhard (1742) as Crottenstein or Krottenstein. The derogatory name likely refers to the toads, in Swiss German Chrotte or Khrotte (Bündnerdeutsch), which found shelter under the rock overhang.

A medieval connection with the word Grotte is not possible, because the word was only later, towards the end of the 15th century, adopted into German from the Italian word grotta and later into Rhaeto-Romanic.

The 1.7 meter thick front wall made of rubble stone is still preserved for a length of 22 meters. On one side, the wall was built directly against the rock, on the other side, a wall corner can be assumed. At a height of 5 meters, there was a high entrance, a beam channel is still preserved. The rear wall of the cave is not worked. A spring is located within the grotto.

Grottenstein is first mentioned in documents in 1672. Due to its location, it presumably belonged to the early possessions of the Lords of Lichtenstein, who are first mentioned in 1180. However, the question of the chronological sequence of castle construction cannot be answered without archaeological excavations. The two branches of the Lichtenstein and Haldenstein families resided in the nearby Lichtenstein and Haldenstein castles. The Knights of Lichtenstein died out around 1275, and the closely related Haldensteiners in 1381. It is conceivable that Grottenstein served only as a refuge in times of war.