Burg Belmont, Medieval castle ruin in Grisons, Switzerland

Burg Belmont is a ruined hilltop castle on a roughly 50 m high rock between Flims-Fidaz and the Alp Bargis, at 1420 m above sea level. An irregular ring wall encloses a plateau of about 70 by 30 m and links three building groups; the central house measured about 10 by 8 m. In the middle lies a large circular filter cistern, and a narrow rock ridge about 10 m higher shows no trace of masonry.

The oldest datable finds, including a rowel spur, date to the turn of the 10th to 11th century. The Belmont family, first recorded as Lutefridus de Belmont in 1139, held estates in Flims, Vals and Lugnez; Konrad von Belmont was Bishop of Chur from 1273 to 1282. The line died out with Ulrich Walter von Belmont in 1371, and in 1380 Elisabeth von Rhäzüns traded the already abandoned ruin to Brun von Rhäzüns.

The name Belmont is the Latin/Romansh form of Schönenberg. The family appeared in the Gamertinger Urkunden of 22 January 1139, when Lutefridus de Belmont was a witness. The Belmonts held estates in Flims, Vals and the Lugnez and supplied canons and a bishop to Chur.

The site requires careful footing on uneven surfaces and steep slopes throughout the ruins. There are no wheelchair ramps or accessible pathways, so sturdy footwear and caution are essential.

The circular filter cistern at the centre of the plateau is 5.7 m deep, and the low wall around it was the foundation of a roofed structure. The castle stands on a 50 m rock above the Trin–Flims road, and the final climb uses steps partly cut into the rock on the north side.