Münchsberg Castle (Ruin)

The northeastern long side of the complex was protected by steep cliffs, while access to the southwestern long side and southeastern narrow side was made difficult by a natural, artificially deepened ditch: the excavated material was also used for building materials. Of the once extensive castle complex, only remnants of tower-like structures and a large curtain wall remain. The main castle is divided into two parts by the structure of the rock outcrops:

• On the southeastern rock outcrop stood a residential building measuring 19×14 meters with wall thicknesses of up to 3 meters. This included, probably attached to the residential tower, other ancillary buildings, of which hardly any remains are left. Accordingly, neither the construction method nor the purpose can be determined;
• The northwestern rock outcrop supported at least three other buildings, some of considerable dimensions (up to 16×16 meters). Here too, due to the sparse remains, no statements about purpose and construction are possible.

Southeast of this main castle – separated by a neck ditch – a barbican is still to be presumed: an apparently artificially shaped hill of more than 15×15 meters is surrounded by a rather shallow ditch. The lack of wall remains on this hill could indicate that this barbican or ancillary building was never completed.

The castle was built in the second half of the 13th century, but after 1286, by Konrad III. Münch, a member of the Basel noble and patrician family Münch auf Allod. The aim of its foundation was probably less about interest in the pass road over the Plattenpass than in limiting the power development of the nearby Schaler (ruins Engenstein, Schalberg, Frohberg).

The Münchs were originally a ministerial family of the Bishop of Basel. In 1227, the bishop's vassals were granted the right to receive fiefs. In 1232, the first member of the Münch family received the rank of knight. In the 13th century, the Münchs became one of the leading families of the knighthood in the Diocese of Basel. The Münchsberg Castle, then built by Konrad III, was one of the largest castles in the then Diocese of Basel. The family branch founded by Konrad III. Münch henceforth called itself "Münch von Münchsberg" after Münchsberg. In 1318, Konrad IV. Münch, the son of Konrad III, handed over the castle and the associated land to the Bishop of Basel and received them back as a fief: this was a common procedure in the legal system of the time, by which a noble family secured the protection of a higher-ranking, more powerful lord for their sphere of influence.

During the Basel earthquake of 1356, the last member of this family branch, the cleric Peter Münch, died, and the castle was damaged and abandoned as a castle. The "castle demise" was already in full swing in this area at that time; political events shifted to the cities, and so the Münchs probably no longer wanted to invest in reconstruction. With the death of Peter Münch, the fief fell to the "Münch von Landskron" line. In 1459, with the death of Hans Münch, the branch of the Münch von Landskron also ended, and the ruin was taken over by the Lords of Rotberg.

As part of Solothurn's aggressive expansion policy to the north, the Rotbergers wanted to sell Münchsberg to Solothurn in 1515 as an addition to their own ancestral lordship. Although Münchsberg was already in ruins, Solothurn was interested in the properties (e.g., Dinghof Aesch) and rights (e.g., tax collection, jurisdiction) associated with the castle. However, the bishop, as liege lord and target of Solothurn's expansion policy, initially stopped this sale. Only about 40 years later did he agree. The fact that Münchsberg is now in the canton of Basel-Landschaft can be explained by a border adjustment between Solothurn and Baselland in the 19th century.