Urgiz Castle

The exact construction date of Urgiz Castle is not known, but its existence is presumed to be no later than the 12th century. The first documented owners, the Lords of Uriols, appeared in 1277, having received the fief from the Bishop of Strasbourg. This fief also included the small lordship of Urgiz, which encompassed the villages of Densbüren and Asp. After 1315, the traces of the Lords of Uriols vanish, and subsequent owners remain unknown. The Basel earthquake of 1356 caused damage to the castle. By 1429 at the latest, the castle fief passed to the Effinger family from Brugg. Further changes of ownership followed: in 1444 to the Rätz family from Säckingen and in 1475 to the Hasfurter family from Lucerne.