Rotberg Castle (Metzerlen-Mariastein)

Rotberg Castle is a medieval knight's castle in the municipality of Metzerlen-Mariastein, southwest of Basel, in the canton of Solothurn. It probably originated in the second third of the 13th century. Since an expansion in 1935, it has served as a youth hostel.

Rotberg Castle thrones on a castle hill made of Jurassic limestone on the northern slope of the Blauen in the Birsigtal valley.

The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1413 as Burg Rotberg and was inhabited by the Lords and Knights of Rotberg. However, the Rotbergers, who had achieved office and dignity, soon moved to the nearby city of Basel, and the castle became increasingly unimportant.

In 1666, the castle was abandoned and uninhabitable. It fell into disrepair more and more and was frequently used as a quarry.

When reconstruction of the castle began in the autumn of 1933, it was only a meager and dilapidated ruin. Thanks to generous donations, the financial means were available to rebuild it in 1934 and 1935, based on plans by castle builder Eugen Probst, through a voluntary labor service of unemployed young people.

On November 27, 1935, the castle could be handed over to Swiss youth as a youth castle and youth hostel.

Castle researcher Werner Meyer criticizes the resulting fantasy product of the "castle architect" from 1934/35 and states: "The excavation work carried out without scientific supervision and the pseudo-historical restoration have devastated the archaeological findings and blurred the original wall structure."

One enters the castle courtyard through a gate. This inner courtyard is located between two buildings connected by a curtain wall and an open battlement. To the right rises the former knight's house with its round tower behind it, to the left stands a small half-timbered building as the former servants' quarters.