En un regard
Le château en bref
The meagre remains of Löwenstein Castle lie at an elevation of about 790 m, on a south-facing rocky spur in the municipality of Ilanz (Grisons), above the cantonal road between Laax and Ilanz and near Sontga Clau. No document refers to the castle's construction or history; its identification rests on the description given by the sixteenth-century chronicler Ulrich Campell, who places a Löwenstenium at a considerable distance from Grüneck. It was most probably the seat of the lords of Löwenstein, a family of knights attested as witnesses in 1275 and then, for the last time, around 1303. Their coat of arms, bearing a long-necked bird's head, suggests a kinship with the Castelberg family, who came into possession of the castle in the fourteenth century. Surveys carried out in the early 1980s identified rectangular traces measuring roughly 16 by 22 m, a foundation corner to the south-west and a remnant of wall to the north-west. The hill is heavily wooded, and the original layout can no longer be reconstructed.