Weissenburg in the Simmental
| Weissenburg in the Simmental | ||
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| State : |
 Switzerland
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| Canton : |
 Bern (BE)
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| Administrative district : | Frutigen-Niedersimmental | |
| Residential municipality : | Därstetten | |
| Postal code : | 3764 | |
| Coordinates : | 602 826 / 167 456 | |
| Height : | 742 m above sea level M. | |
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Weissenburg is a small town in the municipality of Därstetten in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland .
location
Weissenburg is nestled between the Stockhorn chain and the Turnen massif at the narrowest point of the Simmental. It has 220 inhabitants and belongs to the political municipality of Därstetten . The village is divided into a lower and an upper village. The hamlet of Bunschen and the municipality of Oberwil im Simmental can be reached on the way through Oberdorf . After the wooden bridge that crosses the Simme, you are already in the political community of Oberwil. The two rivers Simme and Buuschebach come together in the village itself .
Business
According to tradition, there were still five shops around 1900, which was also the heyday of the Weissenburgbad . In the Unterdorf there was still a bakery, a farrier and a sawmill until the end of the 1970s. The upper village consists of several old houses, of which the doctor house (birth and residence of the poet Maria Meinen ) is the most striking. The advancing mechanization gradually replaced the horses, and the mobility of the inhabitants made the trade unprofitable. A grocery store still exists today , which supplies the residents or those passing through with the most essential groceries. In addition to the Alte Post inn in the middle of the village and the Sternen (Schinti) restaurant, which can be reached via the wooden bridge, there is also a modern campsite. The campsite is intended for both long-term tenants and travelers and is located directly on the Simme.
Natural disaster
During a major storm in 1990, the Bunschenbach dammed up in the gorges of the Weissenburgbad, only to flood the village with great force. The brook carried the former sawmill with it and the population in Unterdörfli escaped towards the train station to escape the disaster.
history
The striking wall remains of the Weissenburg ruins still partially protrude above the village of Weissenburg . It is assumed that the Weissenburgs, whose castle was mentioned for the first time in 1278, are to be regarded as the heirs of the Lords of Erlenbach . Because those of Erlenbach ( de Arlunbach ) were the lords of the Nieder Simmental after the scant traces of documents . The assumption that the Weissenburgers were a branch of the Lords of Erlenbach, who built a castle and named themselves after them, Lords of Weissenburg , has not been proven. The nature of the relationship between the Weissenburgers and the Lords of Erlenbach remains in the dark, which is why the origin of the Weissenburgers is unknown.
The core of the old system can still be seen. A 45 m long, elliptical central building nestled into the site is preceded by a strong, round defensive tower in the east . The walls on the south side and parts of the round tower are particularly well preserved. The masonry that was present on the north side sloping abruptly after the Bunschenbach can no longer be recognized without excavations. A striking section of the north side is currently being restored by a specialist and expert on ancient masonry.
The round tower stands on a crumbling rock and has large cracks and crevices. In the village it was long suspected that there were entrances to the castle premises inside these columns, but this has been denied after investigations. The Weissenburgers and their successors were much too generous and the gold easily flowed through their hands into the hands of smarter comrades.
"Ds Schlossgärtli", which seemed to be a bit in front of the castle in the west, is the deeply walled place. In the 18th century there was still a tower south of Bunschenstrasse. However, it was removed and the stones were probably used to build houses. Two of the most stately houses in the village, the doctor's house and the Zur alten Post inn , were largely built with it. The composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy stayed in the inn in 1847 and made a drawing of the village with the doctor's house from the window of the inn. These two buildings stand out from the rest of the buildings.
Little can be reported from the first century of Weissenburg rule known to us. Perhaps it should be mentioned that the Schübelmatt document from 1175 shows a number of Burgundian noblemen in the entourage of Berthold IV von Zähringen . The gentlemen von Weissenburg are also mentioned for the first time.
See also
literature
- Christoph Nil: Weissenburg. Bath and castle . Lang-Druck, Liebefeld / Bern 1986.
Web links
- Anne-Marie Dubler : Weissenburg. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Franziska Hälg-Steffen: Weissenburg, from. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ^ Association of Baths and Thermal Spring Weissenburg. In: weissenburgbad.ch. Retrieved April 3, 2014 .