Cave castle. Strong wall with window slits and high entrance. Remains of wooden beams mark the position of the arbours and external stairs leading to the high entrance. Remains of beams on the top of the wall hint at a roof construction or a wooden upper section. The interior of the cave is largely filled with rock debris. A narrow gap at the foot of the outer wall makes it possible to climb inside the cave.

You have stepped through the archway of Villa Maria and are standing in the former forecourt of the Salis-Zizers family. The three-storey Baroque castle is surrounded by arcades with massive columns on three sides and a park on the valley side. The octagonal tower, covered by a dome, is the landmark of the Zizers region and marks the centre of the castle.

Monumental overall structure of uniform design, almost palatial building. Ground plan and facades in loose symmetry. Finely worked light-coloured limestone for window and door surrounds and building edges. Construction elements made of tuff stone or thick natural stone with raw worked face (bossage); some wall surfaces with Rasa-Pietra masonry.

The complex was built by the Bishop of Chur Volkhart (1237-1251). The once mighty fortification was the centre of the episcopal jurisdiction. Later, the delinquents from the Five Villages district were imprisoned in the castle. The village fire of 1897 severely damaged the complex. Today, the castle is owned by the Five Villages District. In 2001, structural safety measures were taken. One of the oldest buildings still inhabited in Zizers is the House of the Bell. Once it was an inn, to which probably also Susten (warehouses with horse positions) were attached. Later, the Haus zur Glocke served as the town hall of the Five Villages district. It housed the district administration, the district office, the district notary's office, the debt collection and bankruptcy office, and the guardianship authority. Today, the beautifully spruced up Haus zur Glocke is used purely as a residential building.

The slender tower, which was raised in 1698, pulled the whole church skywards with it, so to speak. The choir and nave were lengthened in 1711 and now stand together as one harmonious, unadorned, and sacred work of art. The church is mentioned in 1340 as St. Andrew's Church, and later it was established as a Reformed church in 1644. The cemetery makes an open connection to the former royal court (mentioned in 955).

The church is nestled against the castle hill, finding shelter for itself and its visitors. This impression is supported by the almost completely closed facades facing north and west. The sacral, Gothic choir room stands in dialogue with the nave, which is dominated by wooden fixtures. The galleries on the northern and western walls were built due to the lack of expansion possibilities.

The cubic, palazzo-shaped building with a flat hipped roof guides the visitor to the church via the spacious staircase on its northern side. This section houses the secretariat of the Protestant parish and the playgroup; and merges seamlessly with a shallower section with a steep gabled roof turned 90 degrees. The levels of the second floor are different.

The first documented mention of "Zizers" dates back to 955 AD. Emperor Otto I. donated the "Hof Zizers" to the troubled episcopal church of Chur. The present-day Catholic church is mentioned in 1410. Beneath it there are remains of a first church dating from around the 11th century. The present baroque church was consecrated to the patron saints Petrus and Paulus in 1696.