Grimmenstein ruins
| Grimmenstein ruins | ||
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| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, rocky location | |
| Conservation status: | Wall remains | |
| Standing position : | Noble | |
| Place: | Wynigen | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 6 '23 " N , 7 ° 41' 40" E | |
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The ruin Grimmenstein is the ruin of a rock castle from the 13th century in the Swiss municipality of Wynigen in the canton of Bern . It served to control and protect the high path between Willisau and the Emmental .
Location and description
The castle is located east of Wynigen on a rock ridge above the Kappelenbach. In the middle of the complex is a massive, 30 m high castle hill on which there must have been a stone defense tower (6 × 8 m). The castle was protected by a main wall, a forecourt and a moat on the access side. Today some remains of the wall and the ramparts are clearly visible.
The ruins of Friesenberg Castle are in the immediate vicinity .
history
The castle was the ancestral seat of the Lords of Grimmenstein, who are documented between 1271 and 1381 and were in the service of the Kyburger . Grimmenstein was used to control and protect the high path between Willisau and the Emmental . In 1383 the castle was besieged by the Bernese during the Burgdorf War . Castle lord Petermann von Rohrmoos handed Grimmenstein over to the Bernese, received the Bern castle rights and received the castle as a fief . In 1402 the Kyburgers had to sell the castle to Petermann von Rohrmoos for financial reasons. In 1406 the Landgraviate of Burgundy came under Bernese control and with it Grimmenstein Castle. In 1497, the Bernese bought all rights to the castle and incorporated it into the Burgdorf office. Wynigen came under the administration of the Burgdorf Office in 1502 . Then the castle fell into disrepair.
literature
- Fritz Häusler: The Emmental in the State of Bern 1 , 1958, 42–45
- H. Schneider (et al.): Wynigen , 1985
