The Obersaxen plateau first appears in historic records in 765 when Bishop Tello gave his farms and meadows there to Disentis Abbey.

[1] To control this important village along the Rhine river, four castles were built at various points throughout the Middle Ages.

[2] The castle was built on a 50 meters (160 ft) long, narrow rocky ridge between the villages of St. Joseph and Tavanasa.

The ring wall follows the edge of the ridge, making it a rough oval oriented generally east to west.

The medieval wooden platform which led to the west gate long ago rotted away and today the only access into the castle is a narrow crack in the wall on east side.