A visit to the Hünenberg Castle ruins

It is one of the oldest castle ruins in Central Switzerland: the Hünenberg Castle ruins. A tour with archaeologist Gabi Meier reveals that a surprisingly rich history lies behind the unassuming remains of its walls.
 

If time travel were possible, you would find yourself in a very different Hünenberg around 900 years ago. The castle hill, which is now wooded, would have been cleared, and a stately castle would have stood atop of it. The surrounding flat landscape would have been partly marshy or densely wooded. Merchants would have travelled along the important north-south axis from Zurich to Lucerne, and travellers would have been fed in the castle house (Burghaus), which still stands today.

This house served as the meeting point for 18 people last Sunday, all with the same goal: to learn more about the Hünenberg Castle ruins (Burgruine Hünenberg). As part of its current special exhibition, "House, city, field – The Middle Ages in Central Switzerland," the Zug Castle exceptionally invited visitors not to its own walls, but to the historically significant municipality of Ennetsee. Gabi Meier from the cantonal Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology (kantonalen Amt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie) offered guests insights into the origin, development, and rediscovery of one of the oldest castle complexes in Central Switzerland.

The name may have originated from that of a noble family. While some remaining or reconstructed walls provide approximate clues about the size, outline, and appearance of the castle, much has been gathered through archaeological excavations and historical research over the past 80 years. This has resulted in so-called "life stories" that trace the castle's development according to current knowledge.

Over approximately 300 years, in four main phases, Hünenberg Castle transformed from an open residential castle into a compact, heavily fortified complex. It remains unclear who originally built it, but it was probably constructed in the first half of the 12th century, and later passed as a fief to the Lords of Hünenberg, an important minor noble family with connections to the Kyburgs and the Habsburgs. The family may have given the castle its name, and the village of Hünenberg later developed from Hünenberg Castle.

Gabi Meier, archaeologist at the Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology of the Canton of Zug.       Photos: Dominik Wunderli
Hünenberg Castle was Initially rather open.
The tall tower of Hünenberg Castle was visible from afar.      Photos supplied by Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology Zug
The Hünenberg Castle ruins were excavated in the mid-20th century        
The archway is not a surviving relic, but was built in the 1940s     Photos: Dominik Wunderli

Volunteers helped with the excavation
The castle was in use until the early 15th century, and probably served as a quarry later before gradually falling into ruin. When farmer Emil Villiger and his companion, master hairdresser Jean Melliger, climbed the castle hill in 1944, the remaining walls were overgrown with thick undergrowth. The two men made it their mission to free Hünenberg Castle from its green shackles.

This was done, not least, against the backdrop of the spiritual defence of the nation during the Second World War. Villiger and Melliger wanted to revive the legend of Heinrich von Hünenberg, in order to strengthen the sense of community and regional identity. The knight is said to have once lived in Hünenberg Castle, and warned the people of Schwyz of an impending Habsburg attack by sending a message with an arrow. But neither this heroic deed nor the existence of the knight himself can be scientifically proven.

As archaeology wasn't yet institutionalised as a cantonal department in 1944, many volunteers participated in the excavations, according to archaeologist Gabi Meier. In the summer of 1945, secondary school students picked, hacked and dug the ruins out of the thicket, and the local gymnastics club also spent many evenings working hard on the castle hill.

It seems they even played chess
Finds on and around the site show that the castle was remarkably well-built for its time. Evidence of this includes an arch stone with a lion relief and the gilded fitting of a piece of furniture. A chess piece made of stag antler suggests that courtly culture and education existed at Hünenberg Castle, as chess was an aristocratic prestige game in the High Middle Ages.

Nothing remained of its former wealth when the castle was excavated during World War II. On the contrary, the loose remains of the walls suggested a modest castle. Not enough for the stately Heinrich von Hünenberg, whose legend was meant to strengthen the unity of the region. This is one reason why parts of the structure were rebuilt, and an archway was constructed, intended to "present a bit more," according to Gabi Meier.

Götz von Hünenberg caused a stir
Unlike the legendary Heinrich von Hünenberg, another lord of the castle is historically documented: Götz von Hünenberg. He was anything but well-behaved, which is a good thing, according to Gabi Meier. Because of this, he frequently appeared in historical records and is thereby documented for posterity. The feuding and brawling knight was repeatedly documented as residing in Hünenberg during the 1390s. A written source from 1397 states that Götz, along with other men, "coercedly captured a messenger, beat him, and threw him into a tower, where he treated him cruelly with words and deeds." (Original text: fräfentlich gevangen, in geslagen und in einen turm geworffen, und in da übel gehandelt hant mit worten und mit werken).

The attack on the messenger is just one of many taboo-breaking acts committed by the restless Götz von Hünenberg.

No knights from the nobility reside within the ancient walls on the clearing of the castle hill today. But if you listen long enough to the stories of Hünenberg Castle, you can still imagine the bustling court life of yester-year behind the moss-covered walls.