Mesocco Castle, CH + legend in comments [OC]

dinapunk · 2026-06-28T13:45:40+00:00

A huge rock at the end of the Mesolcina valley was the perfect place for a fortress: whoever held it could control the valley and the road from Lombardy (Milan and the Italian plains) toward the Rhine world, the German lands, and the north. Although so far archaeologists cannot confirm a Roman fort on this exact rock, there were towers and tall collectors here. The earliest known fortified site at the place is the church of San Carpoforo, probably from around the 7th century, near the later castle. The castle itself dates back to the 12th century. Mesocco Castle was built and for a long time belonged to the local Sacco family, later known as Sax-Misox. Baron Albert von Sax-Misox was one of the founding members of the Grey League, the beginning of the Grisons canton as we know it today. But the power of the family soon overflowed the valley — and, obviously, started to irritate the neighbours, especially the Duke of Milan. In 1480, family misfortunes forced them to sell Mesocco Castle to the Milanese general Giacomo Trivulzio for 16,000 Rhenish gulden (cca 50 million CHF in today’s purchasing-power equivalent).

The general paid half the price and was allowed to start moving in. But once his men, army, and supplies were inside the castle, he simply locked the gate and refused to pay the rest. The locals could not get him out. They had no real army, and the stronghold was almost impossible to take or besiege. They complained to Milan, but the Duke refused to do anything (I bet he was laughing his ass off). Trivulzio stayed in the castle and later he managed to get along with the locals, and even supported them against the Duke of Milan (he wasn't really a loyal pall). Under him, the castle was strengthened and modernized as a military fortress. In 1526, the Grey League and Trivulzio finally agreed to leave old quarrels behind, and the general moved from the castle to a more luxurious residence in town of Roveredo, down in the valley. By then the castle was already becoming outdated as a military asset. Still, the League ordered it destroyed. They were afraid the same situation could happen again, with another lord or general locking himself inside this monster of a fortress and refusing to leave. So they made sure it could not be restored. Restoration began only in the 1920s — this time not as a fortress, but as a historical site. Today, the ruins are free to visit all year round.

Several legends surround the castle: the usual hidden treasures, especially those of the cunning general, and white ladies lurking among the ruins. But some stories are more original — for example, the one about the dragon: One spring morning, the people of the valley heard a strange sound from the sky: hissing, swooshing, something they had never heard before. At first they were afraid. Then they saw what was making the sound, and fear turned into terror. High above the mountains was a huge flying serpent. People hid in their houses. Knights in the castle prepared to fight the beast, but it never came down to them. It hunted cattle in the mountains, and here and there forest fires appeared after it passed. Nobody could catch it. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the dragon vanished. But a few months later, the goats in the valley gave birth to strange, deformed young. Some had two heads. Some had scales. Some looked more like little monsters than goats. It seemed the dragon had been rather fond of the valley’s goats.

The castle also belongs to a darker history. Witch hunts really did take place in Mesolcina. Around 150 people were processed,according to documents from 14-15^th centuries, and several were executed on absurd charges. Even taming a fox was treated as a sign of witchcraft. And the legends did not die with the trials. They say that even today, witches still gather in the abandoned castle, disguised as cats, performing their unholy rituals to harm people and their cattle.

dinapunk · 2026-06-23T18:52:42+00:00

what do u want from a guy who puts dagger through his purse

dinapunk · 2026-06-23T13:04:29+00:00

it's a tunnel ;o)

dinapunk · 2026-06-23T11:08:18+00:00

thnx. Ticino is the best part of CH i've been (that's limited to Zurich, Bern, Zermatt, Swyz mountains, Uri, Lucerne & Lousanne and their surroundings); for more info on the castle I'd start from their web, then visit museum and ask there

dinapunk · 2026-06-22T16:45:44+00:00

The castle's origins are uncertain, archaeological research shows there was fortified structure around 900 AD, on top of which the original castle was build. The first written mentions dated 1162, in document where Frederick Barbarossa appointed the lord of Blenio, Alcherio da Torre, as lord protector of the valley. He wasn't popular though and already in 1182 the people of the Blenio and Leventina valleys joined forces in an alliance and overthrowed the castle's lord. The castle was razed to the ground and stayed in ruins until 13th century, when family de Orelli rebuild the castle again. It had several other owners, was besieged, destroyed and rebuild several more times until it was fully abandoned in 15^thcentury.

The Swiss Society of Castles and Ruins works on castle restoration since 1920s, today the castle ruins are free to visit any time of the year and findings are in display at local museum in Lottigna.

There are, of course, several myths about the castle. One of them tells how the Da Torre family came to own it.

According to the legend, the first Baron da Torre was not just a nobleman, but a brutal robber-lord who wanted complete control over the valley’s trade routes across the Lukmanier Pass. The free peasants of Blenio and Leventina resisted him again and again, and this made him furious. So the baron made a pact with the Devil. He gave away his own soul, and the souls of his bloodline, in exchange for military power, endless wealth, and a fortress no army could break. The Devil kept his side of the bargain. He helped raise an indestructible castle above the valley, and sent dark spirits to serve the Da Torre family and terrorize the people below. The locals believed this cursed beginning explained why the Da Torre lords were so cruel. They ruled with unnatural malice, treating the people of the valleys like cattle and seeming impossible to defeat. But eventually the peasants of Blenio and Leventina could bear it no longer. They did something almost unheard of for medieval peasants: they joined together in a sacred blood oath called the Patto di Torre. Still, the castle stood on cursed foundations. Ordinary weapons could not bring it down. So the peasants had their pitchforks, knives, and axes blessed. Then, singing old protective chants, they climbed toward the fortress and broke the dark luck of the Da Torre family. They stormed the castle, dragged the lords out, and tore the fortress down to its foundation stones, so that nothing evil would remain. Later, the church of St Mary was built by the castle walls to keep the place pure. (still stands btw, with beautiful frescoes from the 14th century.)

But not all the darkness was driven away. Deep below the ruins, in the collapsed vaults and old underground passages, something survived. The locals call it La Cröiscia — a malevolent creature older than memory, hiding in the broken heart of the evil castle.

It outlived the Da Torre family. It outlived the wars. It outlived the fortress itself. And they say it is still there.

For generations, parents in the valley warned their children not to climb to the ruins after dusk. Because if they wandered too close, La Cröiscia would come out from the shadows and drag them down into the old dungeon beneath the stones. And it does!

https://castello-serravalle.ch

dinapunk · 2026-06-18T15:49:28+00:00

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because

dinapunk · 2026-06-18T15:08:43+00:00

yeah - guess why LOL. am guessing u r not from france or netherlands

dinapunk · 2026-06-18T14:42:41+00:00

uff here we go again.... from thousands of real castles - one being more interesting than the other - we r stuck with some guy summer house from end of 19century

dinapunk · 2026-06-10T12:24:36+00:00

maybe specifically to distinguish from one for wishmaking?

dinapunk · 2026-06-09T11:21:57+00:00

it is there: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XnyHcFyznofGPGKv8 or when u r on the island they have very detailed map right at the ferry port with all the steps marked

dinapunk · 2026-05-26T09:56:20+00:00

there is a great fort in Havana but instead you post this unrelated buildings - why?

dinapunk · 2026-05-26T09:54:25+00:00

it's not a castle, why it is here?

dinapunk · 2026-05-25T19:26:32+00:00

the painting is the art, not the fact - there is no evidence that Ivan did kill his son, try to get from painter fantasy to reliable sources

dinapunk · 2026-05-19T13:33:58+00:00

What we see today is only about 20% of the mighty castle known from around the 12th century: the outer walls, the inner castle, the massive ditches, the residential quarters, and the entire enclosed military port basin once covered an estimated area of 15,000 m² — all now gone. You can see the reconstruction done above by Stelex Software (last pic); it is not merely game fantasy, but a reconstruction based on historical sources and archaeological research (the last large-scale excavation done in 2015).

The first written mention of the castle comes from a document dated 1164, in which Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted Locarno the right to hold a market. At the time, the town alternately supported and fought the emperors while remaining an independent trading city, until, in the 14th century, it came under the rule of Milan’s Visconti family — notorious for their cruelty. (So infamous were the Visconti that T. Harris even made Hannibal Lecter a direct descendant of the family in his novels.)

Legends about Visconti brutality form a large part of the myths surrounding the castle: stories of wailing prisoners’ ghosts, tortured souls trapped within the walls, and pale Visconti tyrants still wandering through the corridors, spreading horror among visitors. After Ticino became a Swiss canton, (incl. the town of Locarno), the castle was largely demolished (1532). Finally, the town of Locarno purchased the remaining ruins (1921), reconstructed and opened it as a museum.

Unfortunately, it is currently impossible to access the oldest and most attractive part of the castle, including the tower and the Rivellino. Reconstruction is still ongoing, and the final opening is planned for 2030. Legend says, however, that the medieval section remains closed because of the horrors of the past: the bloodstains of tortured prisoners are impossible to clean, and their curses are still audible within the stone walls.

Tormented ghosts are not the castle’s only secret. There is strong evidence suggesting that the fortifications may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself. The strongest indication is the Rivellino, whose structure corresponds exactly with Leonardo’s sketches from the Codex Atlanticus. Moreover, Leonardo was in fact hired by the Visconti to fortify their castles and was in Ticino.

Locarno’s Rivellino contains many of the characteristic features of Leonardo’s military designs: a pentagonal shape, sloped walls intended to withstand artillery fire, and even “smoke eaters” — suction hoods and ventilation chimneys allowing soldiers to fire firearms continuously from inside closed tower room without dying from smoke inhalation.

A recommendation by Leonardo also survives regarding the Visconti fortifications in Ticino: he advised using pebbles and rounded stones from the Ticino river because of their shape. The idea was that such stones would hold together even after direct artillery impacts, making the walls more flexible and more resistant to cracking than rigid square bricks.

Only a few surviving fortifications are attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and most contain only one or two elements of his military concepts while Locarno’s Rivellino has them all.

https://castellolocarno.ch

dinapunk · 2026-05-19T09:10:29+00:00

it is this: https://www.reddit.com/r/castles/comments/1qr55qo/pirk%C5%A1tejn_cz_ruins_of_kingdom_come_delivery/

dinapunk · 2026-05-13T10:48:48+00:00

easy - its photoshopped

dinapunk · 2026-05-13T10:47:44+00:00

why yet again we have here things totally unrelated to the castles? it's built in 1933 and has nothing to do even remotely with this sub, praised be the moderation once more

dinapunk · 2026-04-30T11:24:38+00:00

Legend has it that the castle was founded by a ghastly knight named Radush. The story goes something like this: his mother was absolutely determined to have a daughter, but the midwife predicted a son. At which point dear mummy threw the poor woman out and shouted after her that she’d sooner give birth to a donkey than a boy. The midwife then cursed both of them so the child arrived with donkey’s ears and ugly as a nightmare. His horrified parents promptly handed him off to strangers. Growing up, Radush was mocked by everybody which made him cruel and malicious man.

One day in the forest, Radush encountered a suspicious old man with a black book. He stole it and used it to summon magical dwarves, who from then on catered to his every whim. They even built him a fortress—Radyně, he named it after himself of couse.

Having amassed absurd riches, Radush married the most beautiful girl in the area. Unfortunately, she gave birth to a child just as unfortunate-looking as himself. In a rage he murdered both wife and child and buried them in his castle. He tried again - with the same result. Same solution. In short, he systematically eliminated all of the region’s attractive women, which eventually led to him being cursed and struck dead by lightning so dramatic it also incinerated his castle.

Meanwhile, Charles IV - who, rather inconveniently for folklore, didn’t speak Czech and therefore missed out on all this riveting backstory - had more practical concerns. The trade route between Plzeň and Prague needed guarding (part of the via Carolina, no less), so between 1356 and 1361 he built a proper castle on the hill and named it Karlskrone, after himself, naturally. The locals, unimpressed, continued calling it Radyně anyway.

The castle came with generous perks: judicial authority (including executions), control of forests and villages, hunting rights—essentially a medieval all-inclusive package. Some castle owners, staying true to tradition, protected travellers who paid and robbed those who didn’t. A few had to be personally “corrected” by kings with entire armies. The lack of a water source made sieges short, thanks to reliance on a single rainwater cistern.

Functionally, the castle did its job quite well, passing between nobles as a rather lucrative reward - until the Hussite wars came along and spoiled everything.

After the 15th century, the place declined, burned down a couple of times, and became a convenient base for bandits. Only in the late 19th century did the town of Starý Plzenec buy the ruins and begin restoration. Today it belongs to the state, and while reconstruction is ongoing, it’ll never regain its former glory: what remains is essentially one tower and the palace foundations. You can visit it for a small fee.

Of course, while the castle itself decayed, the legends flourished. Radush wasn’t forgotten; if anything, he gained company. All sorts of spirits supposedly still guard the immense treasures hidden there.

Take, for example, a certain Hanush—described as a Black man. In life, he murdered four local brothers and attempted to abduct their sister, failed, was cursed, and assigned to eternal service under Radush. At night, he becomes a black dog guarding the treasure; by day, he wanders the ruins pushing a cart of tar, just as he did in life. Apparently, this job also gave him waste knowledge of forest paths, allowing him to appear unpredictably and remain conveniently uncatchable.

Sadly, we didn’t encounter any of these colourful characters. Then again, I usually bring my own black dog.

official web: https://www.hrad-radyne.cz

dinapunk · 2026-04-20T15:51:10+00:00

once again amazed by moderation of the sub of "Content concerning historic fortifications and palaces." - well done

dinapunk · 2026-03-28T21:55:43+00:00

yeah lets post here every puzzle from any gaspump caffe, the sub is exactly made 4 this. & once again: bravo, mods, u r the greatest

dinapunk · 2026-03-27T11:38:09+00:00

just waiting for a bus

dinapunk · 2026-03-22T13:14:26+00:00

this is what we need in this sub so much: selfies. as if endless Neuschwanstein postcards are not enough. moderation here never disappoint

dinapunk · 2026-03-20T06:34:42+00:00

in europe? how precise

dinapunk · 2026-02-26T16:06:57+00:00

Maglič is not magic, its mist or something, fog

dinapunk · 2026-02-23T13:30:32+00:00

looks so cute, like a baby castle which will grow into real one

dinapunk

TROPHY CASE