Alt-Rheineck Castle (Ruin)

The origins of Alt-Rheineck Castle date back to the mid-12th century, when the Diocese of Constance had the complex built to secure its possessions in the Rhine Valley. The Lords of Rheineck served as vassals of the bishop. Later, the dominion passed to Count Rudolf of Pfullendorf, who bequeathed it to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, making it an imperial bailiwick. After Barbarossa's death, a bitter dispute over the fief erupted between the Bishop of Constance and the Abbey of St. Gallen. Despite a defeat of Abbot Ulrich VI of Sax, the imperial bailiwick ultimately fell to Emperor Otto IV. In the 14th century, Emperor Henry VII pledged the bailiwick to Count Hugo III of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg. The Rheineck lineage died out before 1372. In 1375, Habsburg-Austria acquired the possessions and redeemed the imperial pledge of Rheineck. During the Appenzell Wars, the castle was stormed and set on fire by the Appenzellers in 1405. After their defeat in 1408, a partial reconstruction took place. In the Old Zurich War, Alt-Rheineck was again conquered by the Appenzellers in 1445 and definitively destroyed.

The Alt-Rheineck ruin is located in Rheineck in the Rhine Valley of the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, at an elevation of approximately 455 meters above sea level.

Today, only a part of the keep remains of the once proud Alt-Rheineck Castle. The ruin can be visited and offers an impressive view of the surroundings. The preserved tower remnant bears witness to the former grandeur of the complex.

• Grimmenstein Ruin (St. Margrethen) (Castle), approx. 2.4 km away
• Greifenstein Castle (Thal) (Castle), approx. 2.5 km away
• Vorburg Castle (St. Margrethen) (Castle), approx. 2.7 km away
• Grimmenstein Monastery (Sacred building), approx. 3.1 km away