Guardaval Castle (Ruin) (Madulain)

The ruins of Guardaval Castle ("Valley Watch") are located above Madulain in the Engadin valley in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

The ruin lies to the west on a rocky spur above the village of Madulain and is easily accessible from the train station in about fifteen minutes. The old mule track from Zuoz to the Albula Pass ran above the castle.

The architectural connections are no longer clearly visible. The center of the complex was the tower in the northwest; remnants of a rasa-pietra plaster have been preserved. The elevated entrance was on the reconstructed SE side on the second floor. No signs of habitation are discernible inside. The room received light through loop windows with slanted benches. An attached wooden upper story is probable.

A curtain wall was subsequently added to the originally free-standing tower; this is indicated by a butt joint at the transition of the walls. In the western part, there are traces of an elongated, transversely divided building, which probably contained living quarters and stables. To the south are wall remains that likely belonged to a gate system. On the south side are remnants of a small zwinger.

From 1880 to 1935, the area was affected by the building of an excursion restaurant, during the construction of which much original masonry was destroyed. During a restoration, the building was removed starting in 1935. In 2005 and 2006, the Guardaval ruins were secured again.

Written reports exist about the castle's origins: Bishop Volkard von Neuburg (reign 1237–1251) had Guardaval built as a customs station and to strengthen the sovereign's power. The maintenance of the castle was paid for by taxes that the episcopal subjects had to pay.

In the 14th century, the Lords of Planta held the castle as an episcopal fief or pledge. The Plantas originally came from Zuoz, where the "Planta Tower" still commemorates the family.

In 1359, the Bishop of Chur issued a document at Guardaval, indicating the importance of the complex. The feudal lord, Knight Thomas Planta, had the task of keeping the castle in good condition, especially by providing roofs and making it available to the bishop for military purposes if needed. They held mining and fishing rights for the Engadin lakes, numerous episcopal fiefs, and extensive landholdings in the Engadin.

The Planta were involved in the founding of the League of God's House in 1367, thereby promoting the formation of free judicial communities in the episcopal territory. The Planta were allowed to remain at Guardaval, but Knight Thomas von Planta (1377) and his son Jacob (1382) had to acknowledge the bishop's right to terminate the agreement at any time.

Because Bishop Hartmann of Chur owed money to moneylenders in Zurich, he had to pledge Guardaval to the League of God's House in 1409. The League acquired ownership of the castle through purchase in the late 15th century. It thereby lost its original significance and was probably abandoned before 1500. According to the chronicler Ulrich Campell, Guardaval was still almost undamaged but deserted and desolate around 1550. In 1617, Fortunat Sprecher saw it as a ruin.