Wulp Castle

View to the west, in the foreground, the foundations of the old square tower

The ruin is located in Wulp Küsnachter Tobel on a outcrop above Küsnacht on Lake Zurich. The remains of the former castle Wulp originate in its present form from the High Middle Ages.

• 4.1 1920-1923 4.1.1 results

• 4.2.1 results

• 4.3.1 results

• 4.4.1 results

• 5.1 Bronze Age
• 5.2 Roman period
• 5.3 Early Middle Ages
• 5.4 High Middle Ages 5.4.1 First construction in the 11th century
• 5.4.2 Second construction in the 12th century
• 5.4.3 Third construction in the 13th century

• 6.1 Task of construction
• 6.2 storming through Zürich in 1267
• 6.3 archaeological finds
• 6.4 The Wulp and Regensberger feud

Name

For the first time appeared the name written around 1460 Klingenberg Chronicle on: wurp by küssnacht. In the focal forest Chronicle in 1520 ... the vesti Wulsch zuo Küsnach is on Lake Zurich mentions. ... The name " Wulp " in its present form appears for the first time in 1548 in the Chronicle of Burning Forest son John Stumpf. Heinrich Boxler indicates the name Wulp as a derivation of the Old High German hwarb ( = rotation) in the meaning of " twisted hill ", which are numerous in the heavily eroded area of Küsnachter ravine. The sound shift from r to l is not unusual ..

In the tax book of the Zurich city several times the name of a family Wulper that ran a presumably belonging to the castle courtyard on the today so-called Wulpwiese appears in the time around 1400. Thus, it is conceivable that the name of the court of the Wulper rendered on the lawn of the castle.

In the Canton map of Jos Murer of 1566 two castles are above Küsnacht entered: the Balb and Wurp, the place with today's ruin Wulp is called Balb; with Wurp was referred to on the other side of the ravine between Itschnach and Zumikon a job. Only the map of Hans Conrad Gyger of 1667, the Wulp is entered correctly; the Balb recorded Gyger above Erlenbach one - being unsure if there ever was a castle.

It is conceivable that the well documented proven masters of Balb before the destruction of Wulp 1267 sat there myself, but then built their own seat with a coat of arms, which could have led to confusion Murer. 1692 mentions Hans Erhard Escher in his description of Lake Zurich: Whether the village [ ... ] seeth it / where the beautiful and veste Castle Wurp / or Wulp been so obsessed with the Balb by Frey lords of rain mountain fief ...

Coat of arms

The emblem book by Gerold Edlibach there is a coat of arms of the lords of Wulp; a clothed with a pointed shoe foot descends from the clouds to the earth. Murer and Gyger took over the coat of arms for their cards; Murer drew it upside down.

The coat of arms is based on an expression of Lütold of rain mountain, which was besieged on the Wulp of Rudolf von Habsburg: Hett I a Fuoss in the himel and the other n the ground, so I wolt do the one Fuoss down, unc (to) I gesech whether the burg jemants 'd gewunnen.

History

Documented references

On the Origin castle Wulp there is no record. In the Acta Murensia, the chronicle of the founding of the monastery Muri from the 12th century, a Eghardus de Chüsnach is mentioned, is said to have possessed to 1095 a castle near Lake Zurich. Whether this castle Wulp was meant is unclear.

Significant is a property list of family Mülner from the year 1336, in which a Burgguot ze Kusenach is mentioned. Whether therefore the Wulp was meant is not clearly determined here; it could also be the Höchhus Küsnacht have been meant, that was in possession of the Mülner then.

Hans Gloggner mentioned his 1432 written chronicle of the city of Zurich, that on May 25, 1267, Count Rudolf of Habsburg and the City of Zurich during the rainy Berger feud besieged a castle in Küsnacht and conquered. Here it can be assumed that this acted to Wulp, even if the name is not mentioned. Another chronicle from 1466 confirms this: ... And after the laitend of Zurich for the castle to Küssnach uf the Tobel "The destruction of the castle also mentions Hans Erhard Escher:. " ... Castle Wulp [ ... ] which A. 1268 of the Züricheren / with Hilff Count Rudolffen of Habspurg belegeret | taken / and been zerstöhrtet into the ground.

A first description of Johannes Stumpf wrote in his chronicle of 1548: Now appeareth even a Schlosz whether the Dorff Küssznach in the forest / so you auff Guldinen or conditions Egk ( Egg) over wandlet / on the right seyten by the way / be seen the Wuolp trenches VND dilapidated Moors a large and splendid bevestigung / how eco called in the old Zürichercronicken or Wuorp.

The legendary destruction of Wulp suggested in the 18th century to the imagination of the artists. An example of this is a dramatic representation of Johann Melchior Füssli, which appeared on New Years Day 1717. It shows the Wulp as a large building complex, which has just been destroyed by the retreating Count Rudolf von Habsburg and his team. The title was The Wurp or Wulp Castle bey Itschnen in the mountain Küsnachter the Barons of rain mountain was responsible of the Zürichere, citing Graaff Rodolph of Hapsburg captured and destroyed.

After their destruction or abandonment around 1270, the castle fell into disrepair. Heinrich Zeller Werdmüller reported in 1895 that he had seen nothing of the castle, but that 50 years previously should still have been seeing considerable ruins of the tower.

Excavations

1920 - 1923

On 31 January 1918, the President of the Improvement Society Küsnacht Jacques Bruppacher suggested expose the ruins of the castle Wulp in Tobel. To save costs, voluntary serfdom should each be paid by the members of the association on Saturday afternoon. On August 30, 1919, the Holzkorporation Küsnacht approved as owner of the hill, the excavation and on Saturday, May 8, 1920 began the excavations. As an addition to the foundation remains of a tower, a multi-part castle came into view, the work was continued until September 1923. On 24 May 1924, the ruins were officially handed over to the public. At 106 Saturday afternoon around 2100 hours worked. The cost of CHF 6000 were used for the most part to clean up the walls. Contributions came from the Antiquarian Society of Zurich, the Canton of Zurich and the federal government. 1923, the system was placed under federal protection.

Results

Once the work is a floor plan was created in 1923, on which all identified wall features were located. In a small notebook with the title " Wulpgrabungen " the found objects are very briefly mentioned alongside the names of its contributors; their localities were entered in the plan. However, the notes are too scarce to draw any conclusions from the results of the excavation can. Nevertheless, it is clear from them that it was in the Wulp a multi-part system, which was created in at least two phases. From the first castle remained at the highest point of the hill the foundation of the mighty square tower get to the south and east joined to the other walls. In the lowest layers of the wall thickness was approximately 3.2 meters

The older system was later demolished and replaced by a new one. A sprawling circular wall surrounding the new facility. Access was through the north side of the curtain wall.

1961 - 1962

After 40 years in the open air, the wall tops and wall remnants threatened to fall apart again. The Küsnachter architect Christian Frutiger therefore proposed to secure the walls again and they also protect by lateral Erdanschüttungen from frost and wet. In addition, the remains of walls 1922/23, found should be dug up again in order to examine them more closely. Thus began in the summer of 1961 a group of Boy Scouts under the direction Frutiger with the excavation work, which lasted until November. The renovation work on the walls took before workers of the construction company C. Sander from Küsnacht. They secured the wall tops with modern mortar and removed the debris from the Sodbrunnen. With the scientific management of the castle researcher Karl Heid from Dietikon was entrusted.

Results

The excavations revealed that there must have been a third phase between the systems already known.

• The oldest castle consisted of a few of the curtain wall leaning against stone buildings. A temporal association is uncertain.
• The second phase includes the massive square tower, and probably the cistern and a building in the northwest corner. Meantime this system is dated around 1200.
• During the third construction phase the tower was broken down to the foundations. About the curtain wall, a round tower was placed on the east side astride. The area enclosed by the wall space was divided in the middle by a transverse wall to the east, was built over part of the great hall and other rooms in the West, apart from a building in the northwest corner uninhabited outer bailey.

As before, was taken for granted that the castle was stormed and destroyed by 1267 Rudolf von Habsburg, although the archaeological evidence revealed a clear picture of a violent destruction.

1978

To protect the trees to the west of the area, there had been dispensed with in the last renovation in securing work. Penetration of roots, however, had led over the decades in damage to the walls that threatened to collapse and had to be repaired. The recovery program in turn drew Christian Frutiger. This time was working with the help of scouts who einsammelten the fallen stones at the foot of the castle hill and highly contributed.

The foundation of the external enclosure wall was exposed and stabilized. Collapsed walls were re- built from brick with stone stronghold, the core was filled with concrete.

Results

It turned out that many stones had been used from the old tower in the center of the plant and stones of window and door jambs for the construction of the perimeter wall; the ring wall had to be subsequently been built from building blocks of an older castle so.

A riddle offered the oval tower with a straight baffle edge that was set in the east on the ring wall; from the Swiss castle story is from that time no other example of such a tower known. Since baffle edges were established with the advent of firearms, Frutiger completed, the tower and thus the system would have to have been rebuilt after the destruction of 1267. As builders he called the Knights Mülner of Zurich. Today speak other building history observations for edification according to the mid-13th century. Maybe it is the earliest example of a round tower with baffle edge in the Swiss castle's history.

1980 - 1982

Since the excavations had yielded by 1962 no insightful findings, decided the Beautification Association Küsnacht 1979, to give in the western part of the area a renewed excavation in order. In the summer of 1980, the area was divided into 11 areas of 4 x 4 meters, each separated by an approximately 1.5 meters wide web. In the summers of 1981 and 1982, work continued under a simplified principle within and outside of the area with Sondiergräben.

Results

The excavations led to two surprising results: The foundations of the enclosing walls were deep in the previously considered to be grown marl layer 3.2 meters below the present surface; the layer had therefore have been introduced in order to level the uneven surface of the hill. In addition, we met under this layer on another wall remains and in a corner of the wall to a thin burnt layer. Using the C14 method could be dated to the 8th century. Probably served the walls as foundations on which simple timber-framed buildings were built.

In addition, we came across the northwest corner of the hill on sherds from the Late Bronze Age and Roman times.

Settlement history

After 70 years of research on the Wulp can be concerning the settlement history summarized the following findings:

Bronze age

The sherds from the late Bronze Age are the oldest traces of settlement on the hill. Traces of settlement were not found; if ever available, they were eliminated in the deep earth moving during construction in the Middle Ages.

Roman

Again, missing despite finds of coins and pottery shards concrete traces of a settlement. A larger number of fragments of Hypokauströhren speak for buildings on the hill, the remains of which, however, were also eliminated in the Middle Ages.

Early Middle Ages

From the 7th or 8th century the foundations of about 4 x 6 meters measured building, which was built on the southwest corner of the courtyard half in the ground come. Any remnants of other buildings disappeared in the later castle building. In addition, an approximately 1.5 meter wide trench was obtained, which was later cut and fill with rubble masonry. This rubble meant that the so filled trench was long interpreted as a wall. Another conceivable application is a wooden palisade, but of which no remains could be detected.

High Middle Ages

First phase of construction in the 11th century

In the course of the 11th century a first stone castle, surrounded by one of the following hill edge curtain wall was born. Earlier remains of buildings were built over it. About the builder is not known. Since Küsnacht then belonged to Reichsvogtei Küsnacht and thus was subject to the Counts of Lenzburg, is to assume that the Wulp was built under their auspices. It was inhabited by ministeriales Lenzburg, who had to perceive their interests.

Second phase in the 12th century

Probably due to the increased prestige of the residents and the resulting increased demands, the castle was in 1100 comprehensively covers or rebuilt. For the western courtyard was leveled with rubble and marl in the center was built as a status symbol the massive square tower. Whether other buildings were built is unclear.

In the second half of the 12th century, a large representative building was in the northwest corner created, possibly the new residence of the lord of the castle. Finds of stove tiles show that the room was heated by a furnace. A layer of ash indicates that the building is a burnt down. Subsequently, it was never rebuilt. At the same time a forge for the farrier has been established in the western courtyard. Other buildings are conceivable, but not proven.

Third phase in the 13th century

After the extinction of Zaehringen 1218 and Lenzburg in 1173 received the Barons of Regenberg parts of this bailiwick, including the area at the bottom right of Zurich. So it can be assumed that the re- transformation of Wulp is associated with this change of ownership. The residential tower in the center has been canceled, the stones was mainly used for the construction of new perimeter, which was amplified from one to two meters in the north- east and south. On the east side of the aforementioned tower was built for defensive purposes with drop-shaped floor plan. Access to the inner castle is suspected in the wall above the newly created tower stump.

In the south, a large building for residential use, the north of it is another, which could have served as servants' house was created.

The end

Task of building activity

In particular, the strengthening of the northern perimeter wall was not completed; also another points out that this most recent construction was never even completed. One reason could have been that which took place at that time breakdown of the family of Regensberger weakened their strength in two lines and demonstrably led to various disposals of rights and possessions by 1270. Thus, the construction was stopped on the Wulp in 1260 with financial difficulties Regensberger would explain.

Storming through the Zurich 1267

According to the Chronicle of Hans Gloggner from the year 1432 to have been besieged and destroyed on May 25, 1267 by the Zurich under the leadership of Count Rudolf of Habsburg Castle Wulp. In this case, would have a burnt layer cover all of the older culture and layers of debris and in turn be covered by fund empty debris and humus layers. Now although fire layers were found, but not in that order. A burnt layer in the western courtyard lay at the bottom and was covered with a layer of the first half of the 13th century, so could not have been the burnt layer of 1267. Notes from the excavations of the 1960s noted that in the eastern castle half a thin burnt layer was found which had been covered with a 60 cm thick layer of debris, also the inner walls were dyed reddish. This latest part of the plant could thus have fallen victim to a fire. However, whether this happened at the siege of 1267, can no longer be detected. A lack of a burnt layer in the western part could be due to the fact that there were no combustible building.

Archaeological finds

All discovered in the 60 years crockery and especially ceramic kiln residues were all made ​​before the mid-13th century. Ceramics, which was known by the mid-13th century, especially glazed ceramic furnace. was not found. They only came on after 1280 and would have been used safely on a system of this size. To this we must conclude that the castle Wulp was no longer inhabited by around 1250 and before the advent of glazed ceramics in 1280.

The Wulp and Regensberger feud

The historical evidence for the accuracy of Gloggners narrative is absent; the operations described are likely to be the result of embellishments and exaggerations. It can be assumed that the Zürcher the rain salvors only threatened to destroy the Wulp if they did not let fall their expansion plans. Political pressure on the one hand and financial difficulties on the other hand thus forced the Regensberger to adjust their construction projects on the Wulp. Is not inconceivable that the castle for safety is still destroyed by the people of Zurich. Anyway: The Wulp was abandoned around 1270 and fell into disrepair.

Gallery

Tower with baffle edge right

Cistern, looking west

Look at the building to the west