Hexenturm (Sarnen)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hexenturm in Sarnen (photo from 2008 with the old wooden stairs)
Hexenturm, in the foreground the Sarner Aa , April 2013

The witch tower of Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland is one of the few remaining castle towers from the time the Swiss Confederation was formed . It was built around 1285 and came into the possession of the state of Obwalden around 1315. The tower is classified as a nationally important cultural asset and is listed as an A-object. Today it is used as an archive tower and is not open to the public.

history

The witch's tower was originally part of a larger castle complex, the so-called "Lower Sarnen Castle". In the 13th century, this castle was owned by the Obwalden knight dynasty of the Sarnen waiters , who built the tower around 1285 according to dendrochronological dating.

The tower probably came into the possession of the State of Obwalden around 1315 and was used to store powder supplies and as an archive. It also served as an interrogation chamber and treasure tower. From the 15th century onwards it served as a prison, the dungeon of which, which was closed in 1798 at the latest, gave the tower its current but incorrect name in the 19th century. The name Hexenturm has only been traceable since 1861. In the course of the conversion to a museum, the tower was rebuilt in 1877; a new entrance was broken through the walls and several windows were bricked up.

On the occasion of a restoration in 1985/1986, the tower was archaeologically examined and the medieval state was largely restored. Only the structure from the 18th century remained. In order to be able to use the tower as an archive, a self-supporting steel frame construction was installed, which does not burden the original building fabric. The name of the archive tower , which was officially sponsored at the time , could not prevail. In May 2009, instead of the wooden staircase, the tower received a covered, self-supporting external staircase made of steel, which was designed by the Obwalden artist Kurt Sigrist .

Todays use

Today the historical holdings (1210–1850) of the Obwalden State Archives are housed in the Witches Tower. In particular, the tower also houses the White Book of Sarnen from 1470.

literature

The Sarnen archive tower. Anthology, ed. from the historical-antiquarian society Obwalden. Sarnen 1988. (= Obwalden history sheets , issue 17)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A – Objects OW 2018 . Swiss inventory of cultural assets of national importance. In: babs.admin.ch / kulturgueterschutz.ch. Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP - Department of Cultural Property Protection, January 1, 2018, accessed on December 26, 2017 (PDF; 37 kB, 3 pages, updated annually, no changes for 2018).
  2. ↑ Obwalden history sheets , No. 17, p. 47 (Jakob Obrecht), p. 94 ( Werner Meyer )
  3. ↑ a b Information on the website of the municipality of Sarnen
  4. ↑ Obwalden history sheets , No. 17, p. 139 (Willi Studach)
  5. ↑ Hexenturm on the Sarnen Tourism website ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sarnen-tourism.ch
  6. ^ Staircase art: Precision work on the Hexenturm Article in the Neue Obwaldnetr Zeitung from May 26, 2009
  7. ^ State archive on the website of the canton of Obwalden

Coordinates: 46 ° 53 '44.8 "  N , 8 ° 14' 37.1"  E ; CH1903:  661 344  /  one hundred ninety-four thousand one hundred and sixty-six