Question 1

What is the history of Schalun Castle?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle was constructed around the end of the 12th century and first recorded by name in 1237. It was expanded in the 13th century with stronger masonry and additional buildings. Sparse archaeological finds indicate that it was later cleared and burned. In the 18th century, it came into the possession of the Prince of Liechtenstein, before being handed to Vaduz Municipality in 1933.

Question 2

What is inside Schalun Castle?

Accepted Answer

Inside Schalun Castle, the surviving spaces include the grand hall, or palas, and part of the keep. The palas has partly more than two-metre-thick walls and remains up to ten metres high. Timber-beam impressions indicate that at least two storeys once existed there; the keep retains its south and west walls.

Question 3

Where is Schalun Castle?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle is in the mountains roughly one kilometre north-east of Vaduz, in the municipality of Vaduz. It stands on a rocky terrace nearly 400 metres above Vaduz town centre, with the Rhine Valley to the west and the Rätikon of the Central Alps rising to the east.

Question 4

When was Schalun Castle built?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle was built around the late 12th century. Its first construction phase is dated no later than the end of that century, while the castle’s first written record dates from 1237. The complex was expanded in the 13th century with stronger masonry and additional buildings.

Question 5

What did Schalun Castle look like in its prime?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle was a compact stone stronghold on a wooded mountainside. Its central rectangular keep rose above adjoining roofed domestic ranges, while an attached great hall had a continuous stone façade. The external walls were local grey-brown masonry, and the hall and service ranges had pitched timber roofs above a steep forested slope.

Question 6

Is Schalun Castle still standing?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle is a ruin, although substantial parts of its core buildings survive. The grand hall retains sections with walls partly more than two metres thick and remains up to ten metres high. The keep survives in part, with its south and west walls still standing; the south wall is preserved to roughly three metres high.

Question 7

Can you visit Schalun Castle?

Accepted Answer

Schalun Castle can be visited because it is freely open to the public. The ruin is reached on foot or by mountain bike along a local footpath. It is one of the five existing castles in Liechtenstein and one of the three that stand as ruins.

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