Usually we like to start a new hike from a point where we ended a previous one, and that was our intention. We wanted to start in Sils where we ended our hike through the Via Mala Gorge in 2019, and walk northwards as far as we felt like, inspecting all the many castles and fortress ruins and old chapels along the way. (This area used to be an important North-South trade route, thus the large number of castles, fortresses and churches here). But when we got to Thusis it was pretty obvious that the first part of this hike was going to be in the shadow of the mountain for a while, so we stayed in the bus until we were sure of sunshine, and started our hike in Fürstenau on the Anterior Rhine River, a town that claims to be the smallest "City" in the world. (Apparently there are several locations that claim this, and it is unsure exactly which one has this distinction.... in any case, this one is fortunately not "famous" for this, which means no tourists here!)
Fürstenau was given city status in 1354, which means they were allowed to hold markets twice a year, and given their own court of law with the right to execute their citizens (!). The tiny town has two castles (one was the bishop's summer residence at the time, probably the reason why the town got the City Status), a church, and a total of 9 people who live permanently inside the castle walls.
As it turns out, starting at Fürstenau there is a special themed trail, a round tour through the area called "Domleschg Fortress Trail", so it ended up being exactly what we had planned anyway, except missing out on one chapel and fortress in the shady area. We wandered three hours through the pretty landscape from castle to castle, some of which are now converted into apartments, or owned privately, and some are just ruins... And as usual, we just made it to our destination in Rothenbrunnen with three minutes to spare until the bus came, and the timing was great because at 3 p.m. we just had the last of the sunshine here. Only one slight regret: Above Rothenbrunnen is another little fortress perched on the cliffs, also part of the "Fortress Trail", which we didn't have time to climb up to. So this is a plan for another trip!
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| Heading toward Thusis along the Domleschg valley, we can see Castle Ortstein and the St.Lorenz Chapel, both of which we are planning to see up close on our hike |
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| Heading by bus to Fürstenau, the smallest "city" in the world, where we'll start on our hike because here there is lots of sunshine! |
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| This is one of the two castles in Fürstenau (Schloss Schauenstein) |
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| A large information board tells about the history of the village and how it got its City Status |
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| Even though the sun was shining, it was rather cool in the morning, as evidenced by this ice on the fountain! |
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| The other castle in Fürstenau (Bishops's residenz) |
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| A Fresco commemorating 650 years of city status for Fürstenau |
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| After spending 10 minutes visiting the entire city of Fürstenau, we headed out onto the "Domleschg Fortress Trail" |
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| We took a long time for this stroll, as there were lots of interesting things to look at along the way. There was one more tower above Rothenbrunnen which we would have liked to hike up to, but it would have gotten late. Another time. |
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| It was chilly in the morning, but comfortable to walk. In the background is Mount Piz Beverin and the Glas Pass, where we did a winter hike on January 1. |
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| Five Hot Air Balloons came floating our way, always a peaceful sight |
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| One of these two balloons is advertising the balloon festival in Sattel Hochstuckli, where we had hiked just the week before (Have they been in the air the whole week?) |
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| Ahead of us is the Rietberg Castle, next on the agenda. And behind that the ruins of the Alt Süns fortress, and up on the hill is the St.Lorenz chapel. We did detours to both of those as well. |
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| This is the Rietberg Castle. The oldest part was built in the 12th Century. It is privately owned and converted into apartments. |
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| Walking around the courtyard of the Rietberg Castle |
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| The back side of the Rietberg Castle, as we head up the hill to Canova Lake |
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| Ruins of the Canova Fortress, on a small hill. We didn't go up to this one. |
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| Passing by the village of Almens. We didn't have time to visit this one |
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| I thought this airplane flying over the snow-covered peak quite a wonderful sight |
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| Our trail took us past the small Canova Lake, which was frozen (black ice) and made some interesting sounds when people threw chunks of ice across its surface. We sat on a bench on the sunny side for our picnic lunch. |
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| The St.Lorenz Chapel also looks quite pretty from here (in Paspels) with the snowy mountains as a backdrop. |
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| In the town of Paspels is the Sins Castle (now a Doctor's residence or offices) and behind it the ruins of the fortress |
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| This fortress was definitely on in a strategic location, on a small hill with a view in all directions across the wide valley. |
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| From the hill you can see the Rietberg Castle. |
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| Looking down at the village of Paspels. The lake is hidden in the trees slightly to the right, below the Ruins of the Canova Fortress. |
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| Sins Castle in Paspels (Schloss Sins) |
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| After coming down from the fortress, another look back at the Sins Castle before heading up the hill to St. Lorenz Chapel. |
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| Our next destination: St. Lorenz Chapel. (Coffee break on that bench!). This chapel was the main parish church in this valley in the 15th Century. Next to the tower is a space of about 2 meters before the 150-meter vertical drop. |
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| A view southward across the entire Domleschg Valley. Time for a coffee break in the sunshine! |
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| On the other side of the chapel, and almost 100m below it is Schloss Ortenstein, the one we saw from the train. It also is perched on a vertical cliff. This is the closest we got, as it is also a private residence. The original castle, built in 1250, was destroyed in 1451, then rebuilt around the original main tower. It is now privately owned. |
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| Ortenstein Castle, as seen from below |
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| The village of Rothenbrunnen, end of our excursion. The shadow from the hills to the West have just about reached the village. |
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| Above Rothenbrunnen is a small tower we would have liked to climb up to, but there wasn't enough time for that. |
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| Ruins of the Innerjuvalt Castle, above the village of Rothenbrunnen. A destination for another day. |
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| On the train heading back to Chur we pass through Reichenau-Tamins (where we did an autumn hike last Fall). Here the two Rhine Rivers (Anterior and Posterior) join to become the main Rhine River |
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| Our 10-km, 3-hour stroll from Castle to Castle through the Domleschg Valley. |
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