Wildenstein Castle, Medieval castle in Veltheim, Switzerland

Wildenstein Castle stands in the municipality of Veltheim in the Swiss canton of Aargau, about 1.5 km south of the village on a rocky spur at the foot of the Veltheimerberg. The complex forms an irregular quadrilateral around an inner courtyard, with two defensive towers built around 1350, a ring wall, the palas enlarged around 1400 and economic buildings.

Wildenstein Castle is first mentioned in 1301 as an allod of the Schenken von Kasteln and passed to the lords of Reinach before 1307. The two defensive towers were built around 1350, and the palas was built or enlarged around 1400. In 1415 Henmann von Reinach received it from Bern as a fief; in 1491 the brothers Hans Albrecht and Hermann von Mülinen bought the castle and court.

The castle's name comes from the Wildenstein estate, first recorded in 1301 as an allod of the Schenken von Kasteln. From 1491 the brothers Hans Albrecht and Hermann von Mülinen held castle and court, and the Effinger family later shaped the site. The Schiltensaal in the southeast corner and the Audienzstube, refitted in 1739 with new windows, panelling and a large stove, are rooms to look for.

Wildenstein Castle stands about 1.5 km south of Veltheim on a rocky spur at the foot of the Veltheimerberg, near the western bank of the Aare. It lies in the canton of Aargau, not Basel-Land. The site was long in private hands and a museum use was only approved by the Veltheim municipal assembly on 7 June 2019; in March 2024 a buyer was still being sought, so access should not be assumed.

In 1816 the French lieutenant general Jean Rapp bought the castle to retire there; in 1819 it was auctioned and the building was separated from its land. From 1928 the pastor Adolf Frey ran a deaconess home for the elderly in the castle, which operated until 1972.