Salons (Schlans)

The ruin of Salons Castle is located in the municipality of Trun in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On the national map, the complex is marked as Ruina Casti.

The ruins of the Salons castle complex are situated on a steep rocky outcrop at the upper end of the forest below the Maiensässe high above Schlans. They are easily accessible from the road in a few minutes cross-country. The rocky outcrop is separated on the mountain side by a large ditch.

The connections of the former complex are barely visible on the overgrown rocky outcrop. The northeast corner of a possibly never-completed tower made of very large blocks has been preserved. On the east side are the massive foundations of an enclosing wall. In the west, above a steep rock face, are the remains of the gatehouse; access was via a wooden walkway. In the southeast are the foundations of a retaining wall. Inside the area, the foundations of a square building are discernible.

In the ditch on the mountain side lie fallen debris from a strong defensive wall. The different wall structures indicate several construction phases and thus a longer period of use.

Written documents about the origin and history of the castle are missing; a construction period in the early 13th century is assumed. The remote location in the cleared area points to a small allodial lordship. This assumption is supported by the field name Plaun da Plaids, which designates a court square.

In the sources, Salons Castle only appears in the 14th century, after it had passed from the extinct Lords of Schlans/Grünenfels to the Montalt family. The Schlans were probably related, perhaps even of the same lineage as the Grünenfels. Four representatives are documented: the Chur canon Walter (1220–1275), the cleric Conrad 1270, and the two Chur servants Albert 1228 and Conrad 1237. In the 14th century, the complexes of Schlans and Grünenfels certainly formed a single, coherent dominion.

In 1357, Heinrich von Montalt transferred Schlans Castle with all rights to his brother-in-law, Baron Ulrich von Belmont, and received it back as a fief. At that time, the castles in Schlans, together with Grünenfels, already formed a single unit (burg und vestinu, die haissent Gruenenvels und Sylans...), which was incorporated into the Rhäzüns lordship of Jörgenberg in 1378.