Manegg Castle (Ruin)

The ruin of Manegg Castle is located on a side ridge of the Albis ridge above Leimbach, a district of the city of Zurich.

Nothing is known about its builders. The castle is first mentioned in documents in 1303. It then served as the ancestral seat of the knightly family Manesse for over a hundred years. It is not clear whether the family derived its name from the castle or whether the castle bears the family's name. The Manesse are primarily known for the Manesse Codex. This collection of Middle High German songs was commissioned around 1300 by Rüdiger II (documented 1252–1304) and his son Johannes, treasurer at the collegiate church, Zurich's largest spiritual institution.

The Manesse family were originally merchants and rose to knighthood through their wealth. As feudal lords of the Fraumünster Abbey, Einsiedeln Monastery, and the Holy Roman Empire, they are a significant Zurich city family. Rüdiger I (mentioned 1224, died 1253) had two sons: Johannes and Rüdiger II, the founder of the Manegg line and a councilor in Zurich for almost forty years.

In 1393, the castle was sold by Ital Maness at a public auction to "the Jew Visli or Vifli". His widow sold it in 1400 for 35 florins to Selnau Monastery. Even at this time, the castle seems to have been uninhabited. In 1409, the castle fell victim to a fire. According to legend, this happened on Ash Wednesday, when a carnival society carried out a playful siege. After the fire, large remains of walls were preserved until the 17th century. Today, only some foundations are visible.

Gottfried Keller features several inhabitants of the castle in his Zurich Novellas. However, the members of the Manesse family in Hadlaub mainly live in the city. At the beginning of The Fool of Manegg, Keller describes how the family falls into decline. The rest of this novella is about Butz Fallätscher, an adventurer who eventually settles in the castle. The negligent arson by a masked carnival society is also described there. In the framing story of the novellas, which takes place in the mid-19th century, an excursion to the ruin is depicted.

Even at the beginning of the 19th century, Manegg was a popular excursion destination. And even in Keller's time, one could still enjoy a beautiful view over the lake and the city. Today, the view is blocked by the forest. A poorly signposted footpath leads from the Sihl Valley to the castle ruin and from there steeply up to the Albis ridge. On the former castle site, the Gottfried Keller memorial stone was placed on July 19, 1919, on his 100th birthday.