Strengifelsen Castle

Of the trapezoidal castle, rediscovered in 1926, whose former significance is unknown, only remnants of walls remain, which were restored after their discovery. To protect against weathering, a cement cap was applied to the preserved walls. The length of the west wall is about 27 meters, the north wall, set at a right angle, is about 12.5 meters. The approximately eight-meter-long south wall runs slightly diagonally towards the north, where the equally diagonally offset 25-meter-long east wall closes the complex.

Literature refers to a deed of gift from 1345, which suggests habitation similar to the castle in Tegerfelden. It is probably not a high or late medieval complex. It may have been a refuge castle, built as early as the 9th century and subsequently used at various times. A Roman origin cannot be ruled out due to its location.

The Lords of Tegerfelden can be counted among the inhabitants of "Strenger Felsen" Castle. However, the relationship between the knightly family (miles) residing there, mentioned several times from the 13th century onwards, and the noble family of the same name, the Barons of Tegerfelden in Canton Aargau, is not unequivocally clarified. It is possible that the Lords of Tegerfelden-Rheinfelden lost their baronial status due to disputes or inappropriate marriages, or that the Lords of Tegerfelden-Rheinfelden were a ministerial noble family of the Barons of Tegerfelden, which is more likely. It can be observed that the line referred to as "Bälber von Tegerfelden" near Rheinfelden went into its slow decline, marked by numerous sales, even before the extinction of the baronial line of Tegerfelden in Aargau in 1254. Already in 1239, they entered into a kind of vassalage with the Lords of Tiefenstein.

The Lords of Tegerfelden-Rheinfelden had their ancestral castle in the center of Degerfelden at the confluence of the Waidbach and Siebensteinbach, which has completely disappeared today. This and probably also Strenger Felsen Castle, which was probably also in their possession, were already broken in the 13th century in the conflict with Rudolf von Habsburg, the later German king. According to other sources, all castles of the Lords of Tegerfelden were destroyed due to their involvement in the assassination of King Albrecht von Habsburg in 1309. Whether Strenger Felsen Castle, also known in the area as Eulenburg or Altes Schloss, was actually destroyed in the great earthquake of 1356, as claimed, or whether it was already destroyed at that time, must therefore remain open.