Castelmur Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Castelmur Castle overlooks the Bregaglia valley at Promontogno (municipality of Bregaglia, Graubünden), on a rocky ridge arranged in three terraced levels that narrows the passage between the Maira and the mountain. After the three castles of Bellinzona, it is one of the most important examples of a fortification closing off a valley on Swiss territory. A castellum "ad Bergalliam" is mentioned around 842 in the royal Rhaetian urbarium; the Bishop of Chur became lord of the valley around 960 and relied on the de Castelmur family, settled on the site from which they took their name. The valley barrier (Müraia, Traversa) was reinforced around 1120, a large feudal castle rose around 1200, and its five-storey quadrangular keep is attributed to the 14th century. The site lost its military importance in the 15th century, was abandoned in the 16th and had become a ruin by around 1600. The neighbouring church of Nossa Donna was rebuilt in 1845–1850 by Baron Giovanni de Castelmur. Roman remains, including a building with a hypocaust, were uncovered during excavations in the 1920s.