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Heinzenberg Castle was built on the western side of the Domleschg Valley in the 12th century by the Freiherr von Vaz. In contrast to the small landholdings of other castles in the region, Heinzenberg was the political and judicial center over much of the valley. Though the first mention of the castle was in 1394, by 1380 the name was applied to the river and the entire side of the valley. The castle was the center of the Vaz family's power in the region until the extinction of the line in 1337-38.
After the extinction of the Vaz, the castle passed to Count Rudolph IV von Werdenberg-Sargans. His son Johann sold it in 1383 to Ulrich Bran von Rhäzüns. In 1450 there was a dispute over inheritance in the Rhäzüns family, the imperial court at Rottweil assigned Heinzenberg to Ursula von Hohenberg, a member of the Rhäzüns family. The castle was damaged in 1451-52 during fighting in the nearby Schams part of the valley. In 1461 the castle returned to the Werdenberg-Sargans family. In 1475 the Heinzenberg lands, except for the castle, was sold to the Bishop of Chur. In 1482 there was a Werdenberg vogt resident in the castle. After the death of Count Georg von Werdenberg-Sargans in 1504, it was abandoned and fell into ruin.
The castle was built on a narrow, rocky outcropping below the village of Präz, on the slopes above the valley. A ditch protects the relatively flat mountain side of the outcropping. The tower has a pentagon shaped floor plan and today is about three stories tall. Before its partial collapse in 1956 the tower was a total of six stories high. It was crowned with battlements and topped with a wooden roof. A second construction phase added a ring wall around the tower. The west part of the ring wall is still standing. The remains of a southern wall show that a several story tall residence probably stood there.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.