Schloss Kasteln
| Kasteln Castle | |
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| Oberflachs | |
Kasteln Castle
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 Kasteln Castle
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| Coordinates | 47°26′32.57″N 8°07′08.87″E / 47.4423806°N 8.1191306°ECoordinates: 47°26′32.57″N 8°07′08.87″E / 47.4423806°N 8.1191306°E |
| Code | CH-AG |
| Site information | |
| Condition | preserved |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1238 |
Kasteln Castle (German: Schloss Kasteln) is a castle in the municipality of Oberflachs in Canton Aargau, Switzerland. It is located west of the village on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by vineyards and woods. Today, it serves as a boarding school for students with behavioral problems. The immediately adjacent castle Ruchenstein was demolished in 1643, when the small fort was rebuilt into a Schloss Kasteln.
About 1200 the original fortress Kasteln was built in the middle Schenkenberger valley, a few kilometers away from Schenkenberg Castle. In 1238 the castle is first mentioned in a deed of gift to the residents of the castle who were vassals of the Kyburgs. In 1262 Ruchenstein castle was built on the cliff directly behind the fort for the Knight of Ruchenstein. After the extinction of the Kyburg line in 1264, the castle came under the power of the House of Habsburg. Then in 1301 the Ruchenstein line died out, ten years after they had been given the fort as a gift by the Habsburgs. Both castles were acquired by the lords of Mülinen from Brugg. From here, they ruled over a small area on the southern edge of the Jura.
The castle belonged to the family of Mülinen until 1631 when Johann Ludwig von Erlach bought both castles. The Bernese patrician and general ordered the reconstruction of the castle in 1642 to a representative of manor house. Ruchenstein castle was demolished a year later and served as a building material supplier. Because the builder had no previous expertise, and the client was mostly absent, the conversion proved to be expensive and lasted until 1650. After about a century in the possession of the family of Erlach, in 1732 Bern bought the little bailiwick for 90,000 Taler. It was the smallest bailiwick of the Bernese Aargau, consisting of the villages Auenstein, Oberflachs, Schinznach (now Schinznach-Bad and Schinznach-Dorf) and Villnachern.
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