Alt Aspermont Castle

Alt-Aspermont Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Trimmis of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was once one of the largest castles in Graubünden, but today only a few small ruins remain.
The castle was probably built in the 12th century as the home castle of the Aspermont family. The Aspermont family were ministerialis, unfree knights in service to a higher noble, in service to the Bishop of Chur. Ulrich and Schwicker von Aspermont were first mentioned in 1149. The family had ties to the locally powerful Lords of Tarasp and to the Hohenstaufen kings. In 1170 two of Schwicker's sons, Ulrich and Heinrich, were two of the three witnesses when the Bishop bestowed a title on the son of the king. Members of the family also served as the vice-dominus under the bishops. Around the mid-13th century the family had managed to acquire, through marriage and carefully using the rivalry between the bishop and local nobles, titles to Jenins, Maienfeld and Prättigau. They moved to Neu-Aspermont Castle in Jenins and Fracstein Castle in Prättigau and sold Alt Aspermont to the bishop.

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