Freudenberg castle ruins

The impressive remains of the former castle rise on a rocky hill about 1km northwest of Bad Ragaz, 84m high. The ruins are a landmark of our valley, but especially of Bad Ragaz. It belongs to the Swiss Castle Association. In the 13th century, Freudenberg Castle and manor were owned by the Barons of Wildenberg, who were wealthy in Rhaetia. Through Heinrich von Wildenberg's daughter, it passed to her husband Count Hugo III von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg. Pledged to the Dukes of Austria in 1402, the lordship was repledged by them to Count Frederick VII of Toggenburg in 1406 and redeemed after his death in 1436. On May 26, 1437, the fortress of Freudenberg was plundered and burned to the ground with the help of allied Zurich. In the same year of the federal victory at Ragaz on March 6, 1446, Michel von Freiberg appeared as bailiff of the dominion of Freudenberg, which had been regained from Austria. Nidberg and Walenstadt, which were conquered by Uri, Schwyz and Glarus in 1460, came into joint possession of the VII old towns as the "Bailiwick in the Oberland" in 1462 and were united with the County of Sargans to form the Bailiwick of Sargans in 1483. When the canton of St. Gallen was founded, the ruins and part of the castle hill came into its possession. In 1825 it was purchased by the Pfäfers monastery and after its abolition in 1838 it was returned to the state. In 1929, the keep was restored with subsidies from the state and various bodies.