 Grüningen castle was built from the early 13th century, most likely by the counts of Rapperswil, 
who acted as reeves for Einsiedeln Abbey.Grüningen is recorded as a possession of Einsiedeln during 1217–1222.Around 1230, Grüningen passed from Einsiedeln to the Abbey of Saint Gall and was at first given as a fief to the counts of Kyburg, and in 1253 to Lütold VI, head of the baronial Regensberg family.