Schloss Pratteln - BL, Switzerland - Castles on Waymarking.com

"The moated castle Pratteln was built by the family von Eptingen at the same time as the castle Madlen around 1275 1189 von Eptingen were first mentioned, they belonged to the most powerful and noble family in the countryside.
In the early Middle Ages the monastery Murbach owned Pratteln, the village later belonged to the Habsburgs, who gave it as fief to the lords von Eptingen.
On 18 October 1356 the Basel earthquake destroyed the castle and was then rebuilt. After restoring von Eptingen tried to become independent from the county Sisgau rule. The acquisition of the high court rights gave rise to protracted litigation for decades. These were fought mainly by the leading representative of Eptingen, Hans Bernhart. 1460 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to become a knight according to the usual practice of that time. After his return he established a special infirmary and a chapel on "Käppeli". In 1464 he succeeded to become the sole master of Pratteln and its dominion by buing the possessions of his cousins.

The castle and village were sacked twice, 1384 by Basel and 1468 by Solothurn in the Sundgau war. 1484 the valiant knight died, shortly after he had donated the great bell in the village church. Financial difficulties and disputes within the family von Eptingen led to the downfall of the dynasty. 1521 Hans Friedrich sold the castle and the village for 5,000 guilders to the city of Basel.

It was not until 1549 that Austria finally waived the right to rule Pratteln. The castle became a manor under the bailiwick Münchenstein, the owners of the castle, who had to be citizens of Basel, were private "country gentleman" without sovereign powers. They changed frequently. In 1773 the castle and its large estate came into public hands. The community sold most of the property in parcels to local residents in the following years, keeping only the castle and some meadowland. The castle became the workhouse, 1910 it was donated to the municipality.

On 24 June 1963 a total renovation was approved for 1,100,000 Swiss francs. - On the occasion of the successful renovation the first village and youth festival in Pratteln was held in June 1966 and on 8 September 1968 the castle was opened to the public.

Today the castle is under the protection of the Confederation."(translated from the municipality web site)

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