Trachselwald Castle

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Trachselwald Castle (south view).

The Trachselwald Castle is a castle from the 13th century in the municipality of Trachselwald in the Swiss canton of Bern . As a symbol of the canton's expansion to include the upper Emmental and the most expressive monument to the Peasants' War , it is a monument of national importance.

General story

Trachselwald is the only castle that has been preserved above Burgdorf in the Emmental, which was once densely lined with castles. The name of the associated lordship is first mentioned in 1131. In the late Middle Ages, the castle belonged to the barons of Trachselwald, then to those of Rüti near Lyssach and finally to those of Sumiswald . Their fate was linked to that of the Counts of Neu-Kyburg : in the Burgdorf War in 1383, Burkhard von Sumiswald had to hand over Trachselwald Castle to the besiegers from Bern. In 1408 he sold the castle and the manor to Bern, which for the first time gained a foothold in the Emmental above Burgdorf .

1528 was Landvogtei the largest part of the property of the repealed convent Trub supplied. The castle was upgraded during the Swiss Peasants' War . The peasant leader Niklaus Leuenberger , arrested on June 19, 1653, was held prisoner in it until he was brought to Bern , where he was executed on August 27. In 1798 the population plundered the castle.

From 1835 to 1876, the castle estate housed an educational institution for the poor, which Albert Bitzius had campaigned for. It was replaced from 1892 to 1928 by the cantonal institution for compulsory education for young people, to whose pupils a. a. the folklorist Emanuel Friedli and the writer Carl Albert Loosli belonged. Later the castle was the seat of the governor of the Trachselwald office. Since the merger of the administrative districts in 2009, the former offices in Trachselwald Castle have been empty.

History of architecture and art

Trachselwald Castle (north view).

Trachselwald Castle is a scenic landmark in Grüenenthal , the side valley of the Emme . With main tower and Palas , depending under high hipped roofs, the medieval constitutive components characterize the current appearance still. The elliptical circular wall preserved all around defines the overall shape of the castle when viewed from all sides and thus forms one of the most memorable and intact medieval castle complexes in Switzerland.

The castle is a former imperial castle that has been rebuilt several times. The oldest parts of which are the keep and the courtyard side half of the palace from the second half of the 12th century. The Asked about Eck main tower unusually shapely Tuff - ashlar contained uppermost two habitable provided with early Gothic windows floors, connected by recessed in the wall core spiral staircase. The castle also contains several prison cells, known as "murderer boxes", including that of Klaus Leuenberger , and various valuable pieces of equipment from the 17th and 18th centuries. In the courtyard there is a hall, gate tower and granary . The stair tower from 1641, with baroque tower room with a spire, probably comes from a master of Prismell .

Web links

Commons : Trachselwald Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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Coordinates: 47 ° 1 ′ 3 "  N , 7 ° 44 ′ 31"  E ; CH1903:  623 055  /  207429