Situated on a ridge above the river Töss, Kyburg Castle was mentioned for the first time in 1027. Its original name “Chuigeburg” (=Küh- burg, i.e. Cow Castle) might indi- cate that the castle’s use was a refuge stronghold. It was Hartmann von Dillingen who acquired the castle by marriage, and henceforth called himself Count of Kyburg. This family became one of the most important dynasties in the area of the present-day Mittelland (North and Northwestern part of Switzerland) besides the Habsburg and Savoy dynasties. After the decease of the last of the Kyburg in 1264, Rudolf of Habsburg secured the Kyburg as his inheritance. After he had been elected German king, the Imperial Treasures were presumably deposited on Kyburg Castle.
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The Habsburg shifted their sphere of interest to the East (Carinthia and Lower Austria) and at the beginning of the fifteenth century Zurich acquired the Kyburg count’s land which became a Landvogtei. Until 1798 noble Zurich citizens resided as Vogts on Kyburg Castle. For six years at a time, the Vogt was in charge of the judiciary and administered the various sources of income.
