The old castle is one of the ruins that fascinates me the most, certainly because of the still high remains of the castle walls and the calming effect of this place. The small village surrounding the ruins also helps to transport you to another world.
Sitting on the ring wall you can overlook part of the village of Altburg and, on a nice day, watch the sunset. But unfortunately there is a small catch: from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unauthorized persons are not allowed to stay on the premises.
Story
The ruins of Alt-Regensberg rise on the round moraine hill between Regensdorf and Katzensee. It was once the ancestral seat of an important baronial family. On the one hand, the name of the castle refers to the nearby settlement, but on the other hand, with the proud ending "-berg" for a thirty-meter-high hill, it deliberately stands out from the rural surroundings.
After several reconstruction phases under different owners, the city of Zurich and the Regensdorf lordship finally acquired the castle in 1468, which was no longer inhabited from that point on and remained in use until the
In the 19th century it was still used as a quarry. Archaeological excavations took place in Alt-Regensberg between 1955 and 1957. A total of four construction phases were documented, with the current state of the castle reflecting the third construction phase. For conservation reasons, the younger remains of the castle ruins were placed on modern plinths.
Where you now reach the ring wall via a staircase, there was the entrance to the castle since ancient times.
The first stone castle: a residential tower with outbuildings
The oldest part of the complex is the keep. Its foundations extend about four metres below the surface of the earth, and its peculiarity is that it is completely filled up to the accessible area. This massive construction was intended to prevent a besieger from undermining the tower. The lowest floor, on whose floor the visitor stands today, was lit by slits in the wall. The entrance was one floor higher on the west side of the tower. It was originally reached via a ladder and a simple wooden platform, the post holes of which were found during the excavation at the base of the wall.
The first stage also includes a wooden building located south of the residential tower, probably an outbuilding, and in the northwest a 6m deep cistern that was lined with boards.
Second construction phase: Enclosure of the keep and construction of a ring wall
During this construction phase, the keep was given a new casing made of carefully hewn humped blocks with a bevelled edge, which gave the residential tower a prestigious character. According to depictions from the 18th and 19th centuries, the residential tower had at least three floors. A new cistern with a torture facility was built on the southwest side of the hill. The cylindrical cistern made of dry-set stones was surrounded by a massive wall clad in clay. Gravel was also filled between the cistern and the wall, which collected rainwater from the surrounding roofs and filtered into the cistern as drinking water for the castle residents. During this construction phase, stables were built in the north and new commercial buildings in the south, some of which had to make way for later reconstruction phases. The entire complex was now given a ring wall and a kennel with a second inner gate was built in the northwest.
Third construction phase
This major reconstruction phase took place after the Regensberg family died out under Hermann von Landenberg-Greifensee, who lived in Alt-Regensberg in the middle of the 14th century. The wooden buildings inside the castle complex were demolished. A palace was then built north of the keep, which was later extended to the south. A wide transverse wall was placed between the north wall of the keep and the ring wall, and at the same time the ring wall was reinforced in the east. An outbuilding was also built directly next to the cistern and the ring wall in the south.
Fourth construction phase: Sale of the castle
In 1458, the Ravensburg merchant Rudolf Mötteli acquired the castle, which he lived in until 1468. He furnished the interior with plank floors and wood paneling, glasswork and tiled stoves. He also had a cistern, a dungeon and other outbuildings built that can no longer be located.
Saga: The Möttelige Spirit
A scary story happened in the middle of the last century to a farming family from Regensdorf during the harvest not far from the hamlet of Altburg. The farmers wanted to take advantage of the beautiful summer weather, so they continued to harvest corn until late in the evening. They continued to work even when dusk fell and the evening mists rolled in from the nearby Katzensee. The sun had set. In the moonlight, the ruins of the old Regensberg castle stood out darkly against the night sky, but the long line of reapers had still not reached the end of the cornfield. Suddenly a scream shattered the peaceful silence of the evening. The maid, who had been working last in the line, closest to the edge of the forest, threw her sickle, ran to the other end of the field and collapsed there, pale with fear. They immediately rushed to her aid, but it took quite a while before they had recovered enough to tell her - still trembling with fear - what had happened to her. She suddenly saw a certain figure wandering around the edge of the forest and heard the cry very clearly: "Not there! Not there!" the frightened woman said. Those standing around then reported that someone was haunting the area; it was the ghost of Rudolf Mötteli, the last resident of the old castle.
This wealthy merchant from Ravensburg had acquired the castle in 1458. After the extinction of the Barons of Regensberg, their ancestral castle had passed to the nobles of Landenberg and had been largely destroyed in the Old Zurich War. Rudolf Mötteli had acquired the walls from Jakob Schwend and rebuilt them. At the same time, he naturalized in the city of Zurich and settled in the castle. In 1463, Mötteli also became a citizen of Lucerne and also obtained land rights in Obwalden and Nidwalden. Three years later, he renounced his Zurich citizenship and offered the city the old Regensberg castle for sale. Zurich asserted an old right of pre-emption, which included a lower purchase price. As the wealthy merchant did not accept this concession, a dispute arose that only a federal arbitration court could settle. Mötteli had to give up some of his claims and expelled the Old Regensburg in 1468.
It is said that he had previously buried some of his valuables near the castle out of fear of being attacked. Since he could not take them back during his lifetime, he has had to appear as a ghost for centuries to scare people away from his buried possessions.
Rudolf Mötteli knew how to stay on people's lips in another way: his immense wealth was talked about for a long time, and if someone in the Regensburg area was accused of extravagance, they would say that he was wasting his money as if he owned "Mötteli's estate".
Directions/Location
Take the ZH-Alstetten/Regensdorf motorway exit and drive towards Regensdorf. Halfway to Regensdorf, after you have seen the "Waldhaus Katzensee" on the right-hand side of the road, turn left at the "no left turn" sign (further ahead you have the option of turning around and turning right correctly). You then come to a railway crossing and after a short distance you will see a large car park on the left-hand side of the road. You can park there and then walk up to the small village of Altburg (Regensdorf) on the right. The ruins are quickly visible.
Access
Prohibition of staying between 10pm and 6am. According to the notice, fines of up to CHF 200.00 are possible.
