Right at the top of the Wartenberg near Muttenz there are three castle ruins which can be visited. Archaeological findings prove that it was already in use during the New Stone Age (around 2000 BC). During the Bronze Age (1800-800 BC) a fortified settlement stood here.
Presumably the Burgundians built a king’s castle on the northernmost spur in the 10th century. Today the front Wartenberg is situated here. It had been built during the early middle ages and is the largest and most important complex. During the late middle ages, the Strassburg diocese handed over the castle to the Homburg line of the Count of Frohburg. In 1301, together with the middle Wartenberg, it became the property of the wealthy Basel family zer Sunnen. Later the counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg obtained the feudal rights over the front castle.
The members of the Homberg dynasty are believed to be behind the construction of the of the middle and rear Wartenberg. The former was built in the late 12th century, the latter probably later in the 13th century.
The middle castle was first mentioned in a document when it came into the hands of the “zer Sunnen” family, together with the front castle. Later, their relatives, the Münch family from Münchenstein, obtained the feudal rights over the castle complex. In 1515, the city of Basel bought for the front and the middle Wartenberg.
The rear castle is first mentioned in a document in 1306 when the Homberg family decided to sell this castle to the members of the house of Habsburg-Laufenburg. In later times, the feudal rights over the castle were in the hands of the house of Eptingen-Madeln, the Sevogel family in Basel, and a few others. Since 1856, the whole castle complex officially belongs to the civil community of Muttenz.
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