Bärenburg Castle (Ruin) (Andeer)

The ruins of Bärenburg Castle are located in the municipality of Andeer in Schams, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The coat of arms of Andeer features the castle motif.

Location
The ruins of the former Bärenburg Castle are located south of the village of Andeer, high above the deeply cut gorge of the Hinterrhein, on a wooded hill, above the hamlet of the same name. The castle, situated above a cleared landscape, is easily accessible in ten minutes via a footpath that turns off to the right from the road above the hamlet.

Layout
The connections within the once extensive complex are now difficult to discern amidst the overgrown debris. Originally, the entire fortress was surrounded by a 1.6-meter thick curtain wall; individual sections of it are still recognizable. To the west, there was apparently an elongated building with dimensions of approximately 19 by 6 meters. On the northern rock spur, foundations of a rectangular tower measuring 8.6 by 6 meters were found, but it is barely discernible today. A second tower might have stood in a field of rubble in the southern part of the complex. To the southwest, there was an outer gate; a wall joint indicates the later addition of this part. An approximately 20-meter long section of the zwinger wall, which enclosed the castle to the west towards the gorge, has been preserved. It cannot be said with certainty whether a (neck) ditch to the south was artificially constructed.

In the winter of 1977/78, an approximately 8-meter long section of the eastern ring wall collapsed.

The exact period of construction of Bärenburg Castle is unknown, as written records are missing. The Lords of Bärenburg are first mentioned in 1257 with the brothers Konrad († 1296) and Bartholomäus († 1290/98). From the 13th to the 15th century, the Bärenburg family formed a knightly lineage in Oberrätien and had close ties to the Bishopric of Chur. They were likely episcopal vassals and/or ministerials of the Barons of Vaz. After their extinction in 1338, they also held episcopal fiefs. Simon von Bärenburg (1299–1337) and his brother Bartholomäus (1308–1325?) are attested, as is Bertram († 1395) in 1369.

In 1424, the family appears to have died out in the male line after Symon von Bärenburg, son of Bertram, who is still attested. In 1443, the Lords of Werdenberg referred to themselves as Lords of Bärenburg; Ursula von Vaz was married to Rudolf von Werdenberg. In the Chur Buoch der Vestinen from 1410, Bärenburg is mentioned as "vesti Berenburg".

During the Schamserfehde, the castle, occupied by Schwyz and Glarus mercenaries, was broken in 1450 and was not allowed to be rebuilt without the consent of the "gotzhus", the Gotteshausbund. Even after the destruction of the castle, the Bärenburg estate continued to exist: in 1456, Vogt Parren von Patzen called himself "vor zitten castler ze Berenburg". In the same year, the Werdenbergers sold the Lordship of Schams together with Obervaz to the Gotteshausbund.

In 1472, it was recorded that the interest payments from the Sufner, which had to be delivered to Berenburg, were henceforth to be delivered to Splügen Castle. The aforementioned Parren von Patzen sealed in 1480 (residing in Bernburg) and in 1492 there is mention of the "hoff zuo Berennburg in Schams gelegen".