Unspunnen Castle
| Unspunnen Castle | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Creation time : | 12th Century |
| Conservation status: | ruin |
| Standing position : | Gentry |
| Geographical location | 46 ° 40 '7.1 " N , 7 ° 51' 26.3" E |
Unspunnen Castle on the Bödeli between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz (political municipality Wilderswil ) was the scene of the Unspunnen Festival of 1805, which celebrated the reconciliation of town and country at the end of the Helvetic Republic.
The castle has existed as a round tower since the early 12th century, probably built by one of the Lords of Rothenfluh, who originally had a Balmburg south of Unspunnen. The name Unspunnen probably goes back to a Celtic field name ussubonno . The expansion of the castle to include the upper hall goes back to Baron Burkhard von Unspunnen, who lived in the castle in the late 12th century. Burkhard is said to have been involved in a failed uprising against the Zähringer around 1191. With his marriage to Burkhard's daughter Ita, the castle went to Rudolf II of Wädenswil. In the 13th century the barons of Eschenbach came into their possession and expanded them several times.
Walter IV von Eschenbach-Schnabelburg sold the castle along with other possessions in August 1306 to the sons of Albrecht von Habsburg . From 1316 the castle was pledged to the Lords of Weissenburg. In 1322, out of anger against an increase in taxes, the residents of the Haslital moved against the castle, but the company was a failure and 50 rebels were imprisoned at Unspunnen and only freed by Bernese troops two years later.
In 1397 the castle came into the possession of the Bernese, who resold it in 1398 for 5000 guilders to the von Scharnachthal family , who carried out major renovations in 1425. From 1515 Bern was again the lord of the castle and appointed a governor, but soon withdrew him and gave the castle to ruin. The ruin was used as a quarry and only regained national fame in 1805 with the Unspunnen Festival.
Restorations and alterations took place in the 1880s. Repairs in 1968/69 reversed this change.
literature
- Judith Bangerter-Paetz: Unsprunnen Castle near Interlaken - historical significance and investigations into the building findings . In: Stefanie Lieb (Red.): Castles in the Alps . Published by the Wartburg Society for Research into Castles and Palaces eV, Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86568-760-9 , pp. 131–141. (From the series: Research on Castles and Palaces, Volume 14)
