Grynau Castle

Grynau
Grynau tower, Schloss Grynau and Grynau bridge
Show map of Canton of Schwyz Show map of Switzerland Location within Canton of Schwyz
General information
Architectural style	tower and river crossing
Classification	historic monument
Town or city	Tuggen
Country	Switzerland
Coordinates	47°12′59″N 8°58′13″E / 47.216324°N 8.970278°E / 47.216324; 8.970278
Construction started	early 13th century AD

The Grynau Castle (Swiss German: Grynau, Grinau and Schloss Grynau) is the name of a castle tower in the municipality of Tuggen in the canton of Schwyz, built by the House of Rapperswil in the early 13th century AD.

The castle respectively the tower is situated at the then only bridge over the Linth river, in the east of the former, dried up Tuggenersee lakeshore, at the southern end of the Buechberg hill in the municipality of Tuggen in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. Since the correction of the Linth river, the Fridgraben and the St. Gallerstrasse, a road towards Tuggen, and the Linth canal and the Grynaustrasse towards Uznach separate the property also from the former Linth river. The Linth canal respectively the Grynau tower also marks the historical border between the cantons of Schwyz and St. Gallen.

Built probably in the early 13th century AD by the House of Rapperswil, the castle secured the strategically important river crossing in the area between the Grafschaft Rapperswil and the House of Toggenburg. The property was documented in 1311, when the castle was taken by force by Rudolf von Laufenburg-Rapperswil probably from the Toggenburg family. It's again mentioned on the occasion of the battle of Grynau on 21 September 1337, when Count Johann I was killed: Graf Diethelm von Toggenburg moved with a fleet, numerous soldiers and siege material from Zürich over the Obersee to the Grynau Castle, which at that time was still located at the confluence of the Linth river in the former Tuggenerse. The castle was a base of the "outer Zürich" (äusseres Zürich) alliance of 1336 in the feud of the House of Rapperswil against the city of Zürich. Although they thereby passed the city of Rapperswil, the Zürich troops were convinced not to be bothered, due to their large number. Hidden by the lake shore Buchberg, Graf Johann landed soldiers, and from the wooded eastern slope of the mountain, they raided the Zürich troops carelessly encamped at the Grinau Castle, who, leaderless, fled to their ships, and Graf Diethelm was taken as a prisoner. As the Zürich troops noted that Graf Johann had just a handful of soldiers, they competed for the counterattack, and killed Johann von Habsburg-Rapperswil; Diethelm was killed by Johann's abiders. Thereafter, the castle was sold by the sons of Count Johann I (among them Johann II von Rapperswil) around 1343/47 to Friedrich V von Toggenburg, but after the extinction of the House of Rapperswil, in 1436/37 the property including all rights – especially the bridge toll – passed to the Old Swiss Confederacy; it was claimed by the canton of Schwyz, to control all traffic between the Eastern and Central Switzerland, as well as between the city republic of Zürich and the Gotthard Pass.