Heerbrugg Castle

The origins of the castle date back to 1077, when Abbot Ulrich III of St. Gallen had a fortress built on the foundations of a Roman castellum. This complex, known as Herburch or Herrenburg, served to protect monastic possessions and controlled the important military road and a bridge over the Ach. In 1280, the Herburg was probably destroyed by the Bregenzers and subsequently managed as an abandoned farm. From 1303, the monastery of St. Gallen leased the estate to Knight Ulrich von Husen. Over the centuries, ownership changed frequently, including the nobles of Ainwil and the Schobinger family, who took over the castle at the end of the 16th century. After the death of David Schobinger in 1699 and the fall of his son in the war, the era of the Schobingers ended. The Reidt family from Chur acquired the property in 1727, but the castle increasingly fell into disrepair and was destroyed by arson in 1774. In the same year, the estate returned to the Abbey of St. Gallen, which sold it to the merchant Bartholomäus Schlumpf. He rebuilt the castle in 1775 without a tower or annex. Further changes of ownership followed until Karl Völker acquired the castle in 1833 and operated an institute school for young Englishmen there from 1839. After the failure of the school and agricultural experiments, Völker turned to the production of brick products. In 1867, Jacob Schmidheiny bought the castle, whose family owned it until the 21st century. Jacob II. Schmidheiny had the castle rebuilt and extended in 1910/1911, with the distinctive tower with an onion dome being added in 1911. Since 2005, the castle has been owned by the brothers Leo and Peter von Rotz.

Heerbrugg Castle is located in Heerbrugg, a town in the Rhine Valley of the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is situated at an altitude of approx. 420 meters above sea level.

Heerbrugg Castle is currently privately owned and inhabited.

• Buchholz Castle (Berneck) (Castle), approx. 0.9 km away
• Grünenstein Castle (Balgach) (Castle), approx. 2.1 km away
• Rebstein Castle (Castle), approx. 3.4 km away
• Grimmenstein Monastery (Sacred building), approx. 3.8 km away