Sargans Castle

Visible from afar, Sargans Castle stands on a rocky spur above the small town of Sargans in the canton of St. Gallen. Castle and town once formed a single fortification. The oldest surviving part is the massive keep, built in the early 13th century under Count Hugo of Montfort; remains of walls beneath it point to an even older building. The castle is first mentioned in a document in 1282.

Around the middle of the 13th century, Sargans became the ancestral seat of the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans, who probably also built the palas on the west side. It collapsed in an earthquake in 1459 and was rebuilt afterwards. In 1483 the seven old cantons of the Swiss Confederation bought the county, and until 1798 the castle was the residence of the bailiffs, who changed every two years. The coats of arms of their home cantons still adorn the outer wall of the palas.

The castle later fell into disrepair until the local citizens’ community of Sargans bought it in 1899 and had it restored. Today it houses a restaurant and, in the tower, the Sarganserland Museum on the history and culture of the region; exhibits include a wine press from the 16th century. Viewing terraces now occupy the site of the dilapidated rear castle building.