Last Castle Ruin

Last Castle Ruin, located in the municipality of Kradolf-Schönenberg in Switzerland, was originally constructed by the medieval Schönenberg family in the early 12th century. This family served as ministeriales, a class of unfree knights performing administrative and military duties for the Bishop of Constance, from whom they held the site as a fief. The castle, first known as Vesti or Burg Schönenberg, was built on a prominent hilltop to oversee surrounding lands within the bishopric’s territory.

Documents dating back to 1159 mention the earliest known members of the Schönenberg family, Bertoldus and Rodolfo de castro Scoenenberc. By 1211, a descendant named Friedrich II. von Schönenberg is recorded as a participant in a crusade, reflecting the family’s status and involvement in broader European affairs. The castle remained in the possession of the Schönenbergs until the mid-14th century when financial problems forced Johannes III. von Schönenberg to return both the castle and its lands to the Bishop of Constance. By 1360, he had formally given up all claims to the site, leading to the transfer of ownership to the Heidelberg family.

In 1407, the castle suffered destruction at the hands of insurgents during the Appenzell Wars, a series of conflicts between the rural population of Appenzell and the ruling powers. The fortress was quickly rebuilt after this event, but beginning in 1460, records no longer mention resident occupants, indicating a decline in its strategic or residential importance. Over time, the castle was gradually abandoned and fell into ruin.

In the modern era, the ruined site became the property of the canton of Thurgau in 1804. It entered private ownership in 1869 and later passed into municipal hands when Neukirch acquired it in 1960. The municipality then gave the ruin to a dedicated cooperative in 1974, which has overseen ongoing preservation and restoration efforts since that time.