Obermaggenberg Castle (Ruin) (Alterswil)

The ancestral castle of the Maggenbergers was Maggenberg Castle, also known as Niedermaggenberg Castle, located southwest of Tafers. In the 12th century, the family had a second castle built, Obermaggenberg Castle. This castle was located above Alterswil near the present-day hamlet of Obermaggenberg, directly on the slope of the Sensegraben. This castle was already destroyed in 1387 by the Bernese during the Sempach War. Today, only the keep and a cistern remain of this castle.

Family History
The Maggenbergers have been called such since the founding of the city of Fribourg in 1157 and were initially vassals of the Zähringers, later of the Counts of Kyburg and the Habsburgs. Between 1250 and 1350, the family provided the mayor of Fribourg seven times. The most famous representative of the family was Ulrich II von Maggenberg, a confidant of Rudolf von Habsburg. This Ulrich was presumably the builder of Obermaggenberg Castle. The family, which died out in 1370, had its burial place in Alteryf Monastery.