Klingenhorn Castle (Ruin) (Malans)

The ruins of the former Klingenhorn Castle are located above Malans in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

The ruins lie more than 600 m above the village on an elongated rock outcrop south of the Ülltobel. The complex is easily accessible from Malans via a forest path (no vehicle access) in about three quarters of an hour. The path to the ruin is not specifically marked as such; good map material is essential.

Here, the name refers to the castle's location on a rocky outcrop that protrudes from the mountainside above Malans and steeply drops into the Üllbach gorge on one side. (Old High German "klingo", Middle High German "klinge", which meant mountain stream, gorge, or rushing water. However, the insignificant outcrop within the entire mountainside hardly bore its own field name until the castle's construction; the builder chose the name rather based on the existing topography).

The castle hill is separated from the mountainside by a possibly artificially widened neck ditch. The tower is preserved up to a height of three stories; the uppermost part is in poor structural condition and overgrown with bushes. Individual traces of Rasa-Pietra plaster with joint lines are recognizable. Inside the tower, traces of plaster and beam holes have also been preserved, from which the height of the stories can be read. The interior of the tower is covered with rubble and bushes.

A loop window on the first floor was broken out to form a narrow entrance into the tower. On the second floor, the high entrance was walled up; next to it are two smoke vents and a narrow embrasure. The purpose of the wall opening on the third floor is no longer recognizable.

To the west, walls of an outbuilding have been preserved. The remains of the curtain wall mentioned by Clavadetscher/Meyer are barely recognizable. On the north side, beam holes indicate further buildings. To the west, on a lower terrace, lay a wide outer bailey.

Written documents about the construction of the castle are missing. A period of origin in the early 13th century is suspected. It is conceivable that Klingenhorn came into the possession of the Matsch family in the 14th century through inheritance, as Ulrich II von Matsch was married to Margarethe von Vaz.

On March 12, 1372, Ulrich pledged the "vestin Klingenhorn gelegen ob Malans mit dem Gericht Malans" (fortress Klingenhorn located above Malans with the court of Malans) to his creditor Ulrich von Underwegen for 200 marks. However, the castle was to remain "offen hus" (open house) for the Matsch bailiffs. On June 28, 1420, Vogt and judicial lord of Malans, Ulrich Seger, granted estates on Klingenhornberg, but stipulated their return due to personal need. The document shows that the court of Malans legally belonged to Klingenhorn Castle and that it was apparently uninhabited in 1420. On October 2, 1441, a document mentions an estate that belonged to the "vesti Klingenhorn".

Around 1470, the castle came into the possession of the Schlandersberg family. On July 26, 1497, Diepold von Schlandersberg and his wife Ursula von Sigberg granted their rights to Klingenhornerberg as a hereditary fief to Hans Sutter of Malans. However, they stipulated a return if they were to "wider uffbuwen" (rebuild) Klingenhorn Castle. Klingenhorn must therefore have already been a ruin at the end of the 15th century.