Küssaburg

Küssaburg
Burg Küssaberg
Küssaberg-Bechtersbohl
Bechtersbohl and the Küssaburg
Küssaburg Küssaburg
Coordinates	47°36′07″N 8°21′13″E
Type	hill castle, summit location
Code	DE-BW
Height	634 m above sea level (NN)
Site information
Condition	ruin
Site history
Built	1125 to 1141
Garrison information
Occupants	counts

Panorama of the interior of the castle site

The ruins of the Küssaburg

View from the Küssaburg looking west

Plan of the castle

Copperplate by Conrad Meyer, 1665, landslide of 25 December 1664

The Küssaburg, Küssenberg or Küssaberg Castle (German: Burg Küssaberg) is a ruined hilltop castle located at an elevation of 634 m above sea level (NN) in Bechtersbohl, a village in the municipality of Küssaberg, in the county of Waldshut in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The name may be derived from the Roman personal name, Cossinius, or from the German Kissen (Alemannic Chüssi) which means "cushion", after the shape of the mountain on which it stands.

The hill castle is one of the most important historic buildings on the High Rhine and a landmark of the county of Waldshut. It was probably constructed between 1125 and 1141. The present ruins were owned inter alia by the counts of Küssenberg, the Bishopric of Constance and the counts of Sulz. The castle, which was later developed into a fortress, was destroyed by a fire started by its garrison on 8 March 1634 when the Swedish Army approached it during the Thirty Years' War and by a landslide on 25  December 1664. In the 19th century work began on uncovering the ruins which have since become a popular destination in the region.

Location

The ruins lie above the village at an elevation of about 634 metres above sea level. They are a landmark in this region and overlook the Klettgau, which runs east of the mountain, and the Rhine valley (High Rhine). In addition, there are views of the Southern Black Forest and the Aargau in Switzerland.

Literature

• Andreas Weiß, Christian Ruch: Die Küssaburg. Herausgegeben vom Küssaburg-Bund e.V., o. O. 2009.
• Robert Feger: Burgen und Schlösser in Südbaden. Eine Auswahl. Weidlich, Würzburg, 1984, ISBN 3-8035-1237-9.
• Norbert Nothhelfer (ed.): Der Kreis Waldshut. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart/Aalen, 1975, ISBN 3-8062-0124-2.
• Küssaberg im Landkreis Waldshut. Gemeinde Küssaberg.
• Lauchringen, 1985.
• Arthur Hauptmann: Burgen einst und jetzt - Burgen und Burgruinen in Südbaden und angrenzenden Gebieten. Verlag Südkurier, Konstanz, 1984, ISBN 3-87799-040-1, pp. 259–263.
• Heinz Voellner: Die Burgen und Schlösser zwischen Wutachschlucht und Hochrhein, 1979.
• Bender, Knappe, Wilke: Burgen im südlichen Baden. 1979, ISBN 3-921340-41-1.
• Franz Xaver Kraus: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Großherzogthums Baden, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1892, Vol. III - Kreis Waldshut; pp. 133-142 online
• Christian Roder: Die Schloßkaplanei Küssenberg und die St. Annenkapelle zu Dangstetten. In: Freiburger Diözesan Archiv
• Emil Müller-Ettikon, Kurzer Überblick über die Geschichte Küssabergs, Gemeinde Küssaberg (publ.), 1986.

External links

• Official Internet site
• Küssaburg Guide at Küssaburg.com
• Artist's impression by Wolfgang Braun
• Entry on Küssaburg in EBIDAT, the databank of the European Castles Institute