Burgruine Neuburg

The Burgruine Neuburg stands on a small hill rising from the flat Rhine valley floor near Koblach in Vorarlberg. Built as a high medieval fortress, it commands wide views over fields and distant villages. The ruins show how the builders shaped the rocky spur to fit walls and towers. The oldest parts date from the 12th century, when it belonged to the Welfs and later the Staufers. In 1363 the Thumb von Neuburg family sold the castle to the Habsburgs, who let it to various counts through the centuries. The site witnessed important events such as the 1445 skirmish during the Old Zurich War. In 1647 Swedish troops took the lightly guarded castle without a fight and stayed for months. After their departure, repairs lasted until 1651. The castle was finally dismantled in 1769, but since 1956 conservation work has steadily restored sections of the ring wall. In 2023 the twenty-second stage of repairs finished, securing another stretch of the ancient defences. Visitors walk along the surviving curtain walls that follow the steep hillside. Foundations of the southern gatehouse and the later gun towers can still be traced. The lower walls use boulders from the vanished Rhine glacier, while upper courses are of local limestone. A stone-lined cistern once supplied water, and the lime for mortar was burned on site. The open hilltop offers quiet views across the valley to the Alps beyond.