Porclas Cumbel

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Porclas (also known as the ‘Frauentor’) lies below the village of Cumbel in the Val Lumnezia, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The gate is the remnant of a barrier wall about six metres high, of the letza type, which blocked access to the left, western side of the valley. Through the Porclas, a pointed-arch gateway with substantial jamb stones (width: 1.2 metres), the day route led down to Ilanz or up to Vella and Lumbrein. Of the iron hinges on which the door was hung, the two upper ones have survived. The gate could be closed with two gate leaves. The original masonry lies beneath a modern render. Restoration work was carried out in 1858 and 1912, and the Porclas was placed under federal protection. The inscription and the relief of Saint Maurice date from modern times. The roof is covered with wooden shingles. On the valley side, the gate ends above a steep rockfall; on the mountain side, it is now bounded by the cantonal road. Formerly it was set against a steep rock face, which was cut away when the road was built. No written sources exist about its construction; the pointed arch, however, suggests the end of the 13th century. The name ‘Frauentor’ (Women’s Gate) derives from a legend according to which the women of Lugnez are said to have taken heroic part in the fighting during the Feud of Belmont in 1352. The Porclas, with its portcullis, is depicted in the coat of arms of the former municipality of Cumbel.