| Alt Homberg Castle | |
| Native Name: | Ruine Alt Homberg |
| Location: | Wittnau, Aargau |
| Country: | Switzerland |
| Type: | Ruined castle |
| Coordinates: | 47.4911°N 7.973°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Switzerland#Canton of Aargau |
| Built: | around 1100 |
| Condition: | Portions visible |
Alt Homberg Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Wittnau in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The castle is classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[1]
Alt Homberg was built around 1100 for the Counts of Homberg on a triangular hilltop north of the village of Wittnau. The first recorded Count of Homberg, Rudolf, appears in a record in 1082 when he married Ita von Habsburg. In 1225 the Homberg line died out and the castle was inherited by the Counts of Frohburg. Over the following years a cadet line of the Frohburg family took the name Neu-Homberg and established a new castle Neu-Homburg near Läufelfingen. In 1323 the last Count of Neu-Homberg, Werner III, died and the castle was inherited by Countess Maria von Oettingen. She sold it on 8 August 1351 to Duke Albrecht of Austria for 400 Marks. On 18 October 1356 the castle was destroyed in the Basel earthquake.[2] After the earthquake the chapel and portions of the castle were quickly rebuilt, but by 1486 it was recorded as the barren castle of Weitnauw.[3] The castle was excavated in 1882-84. Many of the artifacts, dating from the 11th to 15th centuries, are on display in the Historical Museum of Lenzburg Castle.