Fracstein Castle

Fracstein Castle is a castle in the municipality of Seewis im Prättigau of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The castle was probably built in the 11th or 12th century, perhaps for the Lords of Aspermont. Its location above a narrow part of the Prättigau valley means it was built to control and collect tolls from trade through the valley. The castle was extensively rebuilt in the 13th century and first appears in historical records in 1338. In that year the brothers Eberhardt and Ulrich von Aspermont, who had inherited the castle from their father, sold Fracstein to Count Friedrich V von Toggenburg. Friedrich then appointed Ulrich von Matsch as his vogt over the castle and surrounding lands. A few years later, in 1344, the Matsch and Toggenburg families divided their lands in the Prättigau, however Fracstein was specifically left as a shared castle. In 1436 the last Toggenburg Count, Frederick VII died and the castle was fully inherited by the Matsch family. They sold it to the Habsburg in 1466. Soon thereafter the Habsburgs abandoned the castle and by 1570 it was a ruin. The castle church of St. Aper, located below and east of the castle, remained in use until about 1530.

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