Ringgenberg ruins (Bern)

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Ringgenberg ruins
The Ringgenberg castle ruins with the castle church (left)

The Ringgenberg castle ruins with the castle church (left)

Creation time : 13th Century
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Receive
Place: Ringgenberg
Geographical location 46 ° 42 '3.6 "  N , 7 ° 53' 49"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 42 '3.6 "  N , 7 ° 53' 49"  E ; CH1903:  635052  /  172299
Height: 595  m above sea level M.
Ringgenberg ruins (Canton of Bern)
Ringgenberg ruins

The Ringgenberg castle ruins are the landmark of the Swiss municipality of Ringgenberg in the canton of Bern .

The complex was inhabited from around 1240 before it fell victim to looting and a subsequent fire in 1380. Today the church of the Evangelical Reformed parish of Ringgenberg stands on the site.

Building history

On the occasion of his appointment as Imperial Bailiff of the Lake Brienz area, Baron Cuno von Brienz built a hilltop castle on a hill near the hamlet of Ringgenwil in the 13th century and named it after this Ringgenberg. However, it is not historically certain whether Cuno von Brienz carried out a new building or whether it was merely a matter of renovating and expanding an already existing building.

Keep and hall

This first system consisted of a donjon , a great hall and an inner and outer courtyard. The buildings were surrounded by high walls. The rest of the area was enclosed by a wall that was only about three meters high. The north wall of the inner courtyard and the palace were made particularly strong with a thickness of 2.5 meters and probably served as protection against projectiles. Due to the size, the wall thickness and the resulting small interior space, it can be assumed that the keep also served as a shield wall . It was probably accessed via the northern courtyard wall and from there via a wooden staircase to the higher entrance.

There are no documents about subsequent modifications and extensions to the castle complex. However, it can be assumed that they were made by members of the first three generations of the family, as their descendants lacked the financial means for renovations.

A first enlargement of the castle took place with a considerable expansion of the palace building, so that the former outer courtyard disappeared. For this purpose, another two meter thick wall was placed in front of its north wall. At the same time, the other, lower walls were raised and provided with battlements that were accessible from the first floor of the hall.

Residential tower

As early as the time of Cuno von Brienz, the castle had a probably one-story tower with an almost square floor plan, which closed the complex to the east. Later, a second and then a third floor was added. Each floor was occupied by a single room and was connected to the other floors by wooden stairs.

After the defensive walls of the castle had been provided with walkways, the high entrance of the residential tower on the third floor could be reached via the southern battlement.

The knight's hall was on the second floor and was the only room with windows. The high window niches with their seating were accessible via wooden stairs. Since the room did not have a fireplace, it seems to have been used only rarely and mainly in the warmer months.

church

In 1670/71 the residents of Ringgenberg built a church on the castle grounds under the direction of Abraham Dünz . For this purpose, parts of the ruins were removed and used to build the new building. Of the castle complex, only the Romanesque residential tower, on the ground floor of which a second entrance was made, and some wall sections remained.

Restorations

After the first, but not extensive, renovation of the ruins in 1928, further extensive conservation measures were carried out from 1946 to 1949. A renovation of the church followed in 1960/61.

A further restoration of the castle began in April 2006. After the restoration work was completed, the ruins were inaugurated in June 2008.

Residents and owners

Ringenberg coat of arms in the Zurich coat of arms roll (approx. 1340)

The first guaranteed owner of Ringgenberg Castle was the Ministeriale Cuno of Brienz. In the course of time his family gave up their old name and called themselves only von Ringgenberg . Cuno's sons, Philipp and Rudolf, administered the rule together from 1240 to 1291 , before Philipp's son, the poet Johann von Ringgenberg , succeeded them until 1350. Johann is the best-known member of the family and became known as the "knight who wields sword and lyre equally well". His songs were included in the Codex Manesse around 1300 .

With Johann's death the gradual ruin of the house began. Philipp von Ringgenberg (1351-1374) had to pledge the western part of the rule to the Interlaken monastery in 1351 in order to be able to repay his debts. His son Petermann, who became lord of Ringgenberg in 1374, did not have the financial means to restore his castle, which had been plundered and destroyed by rebellious peasants in 1380. Impoverished and without male descendants, he died in Bern in 1390.

Petermann's heirs, Beatrix and Ursula, sold Ringgenberg Castle to the Interlaken Monastery. When its goods were confiscated in the course of the Reformation, the ruins fell to the city of Bern.

In 1670 the villagers of Ringgenberg asked "to be allowed to convert the old castle into a church". After this request was granted, the castle area became the property of the Evangelical Reformed parish of Ringgenberg, which is still the owner today.

literature

  • Christian Frutiger: Ringgenberg castle ruins. An illustrated contribution to the history of the Ringgenberg castle ruins . Interlaken 1983.
  • Daniel Gutscher: The Ringgenberg castle ruins. For building archaeological investigation and restoration 2006-2008. In: Middle Ages. Journal of the Swiss Castle Association. Vol. 13, No. 1, 2008, ISSN  1420-6994 , pp. 1–12, doi : 10.5169 / seals-166219 .
  • Peter Lüps, Marc Bussbaumer: Were the niches in the Tower of Ringgenberg really used for pickling? In: Middle Ages. Journal of the Swiss Castle Association. Vol. 13, No. 1, 2008, ISSN  1420-6994 , pp. 16-19, doi : 10.5169 / seals-166221 .
  • Gustav Ritschard: Ringgenberg + Goldswil . Ringgenberg community, Ringgenberg 1990.

Web links

Commons : Ruine Ringgenberg (Bern)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. The Ringgenberg castle ruins have been restored . In: Berner Oberland-News, Monday 30 June 2008
  2. The restored Ringgenberg castle ruins are inaugurated . In: Berner Oberland-News, Sunday 6 July 2008