Bishop Castel (Fürstenau)

The Episcopal Castle, also known as "Lower Castle", is located in Fürstenau in Domleschg in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Together with Fürstenau's other castle, Schauenstein Castle or "Upper Castle", it originally formed part of the medieval fortifications.
The construction of the Episcopal Castle dates back to the reign of Bishop Heinrich von Montfort of Chur around 1270. In the Buoch der Vestinen from 1410 it says: The vesti Fürtnow buwt der egenant byschoff Heinrich von Montfort zu den ziten, do man zalt anno domini MCCLXXII. Possibly an earlier mention from 1257 also refers to the castle.
In 1283, however, Bishop Konrad III. von Belmont documented at the castle (in castro Fürstenowe); the affiliation of the County of Tyrol to the Diocese of Chur was recorded. From that early period, the square keep with a side length of around ten meters has been preserved at the eastern corner. The medieval residential building is presumed to be in the southwest; in 1635, Master Mang Tauscher from Allgäu built a roof truss, which, with its length of 62 feet, corresponded to the length of the castle without the tower. Further major alterations took place under Bishop Ulrich VII. von Federspiel from 1709 to 1711 and after the city fire of October 27, 1742, under Bishop Benedikt von Rost.