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The Rudenz tower was built in the early 13th century. It protected the Gotthard road (Gotthardstrasse) and housed an Imperial customs post. In the 14th century, the right to collect Imperial customs was owned by the Lords of Attinghausen. The first known owner of the tower was Baron Johann von Attinghausen. After Baron Johann von Attinghausen's death around 1360, ownership passed to the Haslital Knight of Rudenz (by virtue of marriage). The tower thus came to be known as the Castle of Rudenz. The Knights of Rudenz were in the service of the Freiherr of Brienz-Ringgenberg and owned castles in Meiringen and Giswil before inheriting the tower at Flüelen. The inheritance was disputed and Johann von Rudenz finally took possession of the castle in the 1370s. As part of receiving the inheritance on 19 June 1365 he granted half the collected tolls to the Canton of Uri. He ruled there for only a few years and died, the last of his line, before 1383.
After the death of Johann von Rudenz, the castle passed through a number of owners. In the first half of the 17th century it was owned by Landammann Johann Heinrich von Brunnen. In 1727 it was acquired by Johann Joachim Epp. Then, in 1815 the Zgaggen family purchased it for 1,900 gulden. They repaired the old tower and returned it to a livable condition. They filled in the old dry moat and planted extensive gardens around the castle. However, over the following centuries, they had to sell off parts of the land and the gardens were replaced with streets and buildings as Flüelen grew. The castle was later sold to the municipality of Flüelen. In 2005 the municipality opened a public park on the castle grounds and opened the great hall for events.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.