Gräpplang, Bronze Age hilltop settlement / medieval castle ruins

Gräpplang is a hilltop with medieval castle ruins near Flums in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where people have settled for thousands of years. For anyone curious about archaeology and history, it is one of the more interesting spots in the region, because the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages meet on a single spur.

Where is Gräpplang?

The spur rises about one kilometre northwest of the centre of Flums, in the Seez valley in the south of the canton of St. Gallen. The hill is both an archaeological site and a heritage monument, so it pays to look closely at the surviving walls and the shape of the terrain.

What happened here in the Bronze Age?

Archaeologist Franziska Knoll-Heitz excavated the site from 1958 to 1990. The earliest traces of settlement are linked to the Neolithic. The busiest phases fall in the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age, around 1600–1500 BC, and in the Late Bronze Age, around 1200–800 BC. Finds from the later period include house floor plans, terrace walls and urnfield pottery. The settlement reached its greatest extent in the Late Bronze Age, between the 11th and 8th centuries BC. W. Neubauer wrote about it in 1994 in a study of Flums-Gräpplang as a Late Bronze Age settlement.

What did the medieval castle look like?

In the 13th century a fortified castle was built on the highest point of the spur. It served as the seat of the bailiffs who administered the Flums lordship on behalf of the Bishop of Chur. The complex has two parts: the core castle in the west and an outer bailey in the east, separated by a transverse ditch.

Who owned it?

In 1528 the property passed to the Tschudi family of Glarus, who held it until 1766. Since 1923 the partly preserved ruin has belonged to the municipality of Flums.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gräpplang only a castle ruin? No. The ruins stand on the site of a settlement whose origins go back to prehistory, and which peaked in the Late Bronze Age.

When was the castle built? In the 13th century, as the seat of the Bishop of Chur's bailiffs.

Who owns it today? The municipality of Flums, since 1923.

Has the site been excavated? Yes, excavations ran from 1958 to 1990 under Franziska Knoll-Heitz.

Who is it for? Visitors interested in archaeology, castles and the history of eastern Switzerland who want a short trip near Flums.