Tower ruins, Turrahus

In the rear Safiental valley, approx. 1.5 km south of Thalkirch, there is a group of houses called “Turrahus”. The name refers to a former tower building, of which no remains have survived. As a frequently traveled traffic route ran through the Safiental in the Middle Ages, connecting the Vorderrheintal with the Rheinwald, it is not inconceivable that the presumed fortification at Turrahus served as a sust. The place is mentioned three times as a farm in the Urbaria of Cazis: in 1495 and 1502 as “Hoff zum Turn vnd Santlaschg”, in 1512 as “gut zum Turn”. Andres zem Turn, who appears as a witness in a Cazis document, undoubtedly sat on this farm in 1363. If there were once castles in the rear Safiental, they certainly disappeared early on, which corresponds to the general development in Walser areas.

(Recorded by Regiun Surselva)