Bremgarten Castle

Bremgarten Castle, east facade

Aerial view of the Schlossguet peninsula; the lock is at the narrowest point

The Castle Bremgarten is a castle from the 16th century in the town of Bremgarten bei Bern in the canton of Bern , in Switzerland .

history

In March 1298, after the battle in Jammertal , the Bernese attacked the castle of the Barons of Bremgarten, which is located near the present-day palace, and destroyed the little town that has now disappeared. In 1306 the von Bremgarten family sold the rule to the Johanniterhaus von Münchenbuchsee , which they owned until the secularization in 1528. The last Komtur (1508 to 1529) Peter von Englisberg , handed over the rule of the city of Bern and received lifelong right to live in the castle. In the same year, Bern offered the rulership to the mayor Hans Franz Nägeli as a reward for his services in conquering Vaud. However, he only took over the castle and fortress after Englisberg's death in 1545 for £ 5,000. In 1549 the southern extension was built on which the coat of arms of Nägeli and his two wives is attached. From 1592 to 1727 the castle remained in the possession of the Kirchberger family . During the reign of Margarete von Wattenwyl (1745 to 1761) , the sculptor Johann August Nahl decorated the salon of the newly built castle. Today's baroque building with its spacious gardens was created. The first structural expansion of Bremgarten took place under Albrecht Frisching's rule (1766 to 1798). With the revolution of 1798 the power of rule in the canton of Bern was abolished. The castle subsequently came into changing hands and was at times a restaurant. Today the castle is privately owned and is carefully maintained.

Artist in the castle

The Swiss painter Ricco grew up in Bremgarten Castle, where his parents Max and Tilli Wassmer celebrated lavish parties with poets, painters and composers. Hermann Hesse described the poetic atmosphere in the story " Die Morgenlandfahrt ". Ms. Tilli Wassmer-Zurlinden was also the patron of the renovation of the Bremgarten church by Louis Moilliet in 1924 .