date to as early as the 15th century.

From 1406, a combined fortification of the town and the castle was built.In 1445, the town, but not the castle, was captured and burned by the Swiss Confederacy.The town was given limited rights of self-government in 1456 when the count agreed to select a Schultheiss out of a list of three candidates to be submitted by the burghers. In 1483, count Jürg of Werdenberg-Sargans was forced to sell the county to the Swiss Confederacy for 15,000 Rhenish guilder.