Castle ruins of Freudenberg in Bad Ragaz

The attractive remains of the former castle rise upon the peak of a rocky hill, 84 metres in height, lying opposite the mountain slope, approximately 1 km north west of Bad Ragaz. The ruin is a landmark of our valley particularly, however, of Bad Ragaz. It belongs to the Association of Swiss Castles & Fortresses.

A legend relates that on the Freudenberg a beautiful maiden was held captive there and she waited longingly for a youth to come and ransom her. Besides the love of the bewitching damsel the liberator was also promised a hidden treasure. But all attempts to free her failed because none of the would-be delivers could fulfil the conditions imposed. The chosen one had to be a peaceful creature who had seen the spirit of the lovely virgin!

Castle and lordship Freudenberg in the 13th century belonged to the Freiherren von Wildenberg who had estates in Rhaetia. Through Heinrich von Wildenberg's daughter they passed into the hands of her husband Count Hugo III of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg. In 1402 mortgaged to the Dukes of Austria, the lordship was again mortgaged in 1406 to the Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg and after his death in 1436 again redeemed. On 26th May 1437 with the help of the Zürich allies the fortress of Freudenberg was taken, plundered and razed to the ground. In the same year of the victory of the Eidgenossenschaft at Ragaz (6th March 1446), Michel von Freiberg appeared as bailiff of the lordship Freudenberg which the Austrians had won back. Nidberg and Walenstadt, conquered by Uri, Schwyz and Glarus in 1460, came into the common possession of the 7 Old Places as the "Oberland (Upper) Bailiwick" in 1462 and were united with the county of Sargans in 1483 to make up the Land Bailiwick of Sargans. With the foundation of the canton of St Gallen, the ruins and a part of the fortress-hill came into its possession, 1825 sold to the Pfäfers monastery and after its abolition in 1838 again back to the state. In 1929 the keep was restored with the help of state subsidies and various corporations.

Zoom map

Contact Information

Bad Ragaz Tourismus
Am Platz 1
7310 Bad Ragaz
Tel. +41 (0)81 300 40 20
Fax +41 (0)81 300 40 21
info@spavillage.ch
www.spavillage.ch

We want all the existing remains of the castle to be preserved as an historical memorial, as landmark of our beautiful landscape, as a favourite place to visit. More information about the castles in this country is given in the Swiss Castle Guide by Thomas Bitterli- Waldvogel, published by the Reinhardt F. Verlag.

InfoBox

You get to the ruins on foot from Bad Ragaz railway station via Pizolstrasse and Weiligstrasse in about 30 minutes or you park you car on the parking site of the Pizzeria Troccadero and walk in approx. 16 minutes to the ruins.

There is an attractive open-air grill site near the ruins.