Schloss Baldenstein

En un regard

Le château en bref

Perched on a rocky spur south-east of the confluence of the Albula and the Hinterrhein, Baldenstein Castle overlooks the Domleschg plain near Sils im Domleschg (Grisons). To the north, the cliff falls away towards the Albula; on the other sides, dry moats protect the site. The oldest core is a rectangular keep from the first half of the 13th century, contemporary with the first known lords, the Knights of Baldenstein, mentioned in 1246 and 1252. Over the centuries, the fortress changed hands several times, until its purchase in 1782 by Francesco Conrad, a native of Chiavenna; his descendants still own it today, now in the form of a family foundation. The naturalist and ornithologist Thomas Conrad von Baldenstein spent most of his life there. The castle's present appearance stems from the reconstruction following the fire of 1877; the pyramidal roof of the tower dates from 1999. Inside, the great hall on the ground floor retains 17th-century stucco work and a painted ceiling. A private property, the castle is not open to visitors, but it can be seen from the Domleschg Castles Trail.