Schalberg Ruins

En un regard

Le château en bref

The ruins of Schalberg stand on a rocky ridge of the Jura, west of Pfeffingen and Aesch (Basel-Country), above the narrow Klus gorge. The site was occupied well before the castle: the nearby cave has yielded very ancient flint tools and traces of occupation up to the Carolingian period. The castle was founded around the middle of the 13th century by the Basel branch of the Schaler knights, on their own land, between the castles of Engenstein and Frohberg; Peter II, mayor of Basel, is a possible builder. Around 1300, the family handed the castle over to the Bishop of Basel and received it back as a fief; Rudolf was the first to style himself "von Schalberg". Damaged by the earthquake of 1356 and then repaired, it was abandoned shortly after 1400. When the Schaler line died out, the Counts of Thierstein-Pfeffingen inherited it; it was still described as a "Vesti" in 1437 and was last mentioned in 1452. The complex, about a hundred metres long, comprises two sections separated by two ditches; the hexagonal curtain wall of the upper bailey and a round tower 6.6 m in diameter can still be seen. Partial conservation work was carried out in 1975. Access is free, with a fire site on the grounds.