Grüneck Castle (Ruin) (Ilanz)

The ruin of Grüneck Castle is located slightly above the municipality of Ilanz in Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

The ruin lies east of Strada directly on the road to Ruschein. It can be reached through the undergrowth in a few minutes from the bus stop after the first hairpin bend.

What remains is a mighty wall remnant of a massive residential tower with a pentagonal floor plan. The eastern part has disappeared except for a few remnants. The interior of the tower is heavily overgrown and filled with rubble. The wall consists of layered masonry of large blocks, the wall thickness is 2.8 to 3 meters. Striking is a very good corner bond of bossed ashlar with precise edge dressing. In some places, there are areas with fire-reddened Rasa-Pietra plaster. In the preserved west wall, the following openings are recognizable: at the wall break, an exit to a balcony, next to it embrasure windows, and a latrine bay. In the plaster of the wall passage leading to the latrine bay, there is a subsequently incised inscription: JOH. GAUDENTIUS CASTELBERG 1704.

Presumably, the tower had four floors: two cellars, a main floor, and an attic. Nothing is known about the roof shape; a developed attic cannot be ruled out.

In 1811 and 1904, large quantities of coins were found at the foot of the castle rock, especially coins of Charlemagne and the Lombard king Desiderius. They presumably came to their hiding place around 790 and are not related to Grüneck Castle.

Neither the castle nor the Grüneck family are mentioned in documents. The construction method suggests a dating around the turn of the 12th to the 13th century. In 1515, a rent from "ainem goutt zuo Inlantz Gryenegg" is mentioned in a rent book of the Dominican monastery of St. Nicolai in Chur.

The Schmid von Grüneck family only adopted their name in the 16th century, when the castle was presumably already abandoned. In 1544, master smith Jacob from Ilanz, after having served as a captain in imperial service, managed to obtain the predicate "von Grüneck" from Charles V. His son Hans Jakob received an additional confirmation of nobility and coat of arms from Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in 1583 for himself and his three brothers.

The Schmid von Grüneck played a significant role in the administration of the Three Leagues state. They held official positions in Valtellina and were military leaders in the European armies of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1836, the last female Schmid von Grüneck of the Ilanz line passed away.