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Château D'Erguel
Erguel Castle (french: Château d'Erguel) is a ruined castle in the municipality of Sonvilier in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the best preserved castle ruin in the French-speaking Bernese Jura. History During the 11th century, the Lords of Erguel, or Arguel, moved from Franche-Comté and settled in the village of Sonvilier. Exactly when they built Erguel Castle on a hill south-east of the village is unknown, but in 1178 and 1184 Heinrich von Erguël was mentioned ruling over the region.Burgenwelt.de - History section of Château d'Erguël
accessed 13 April 2012
The knights of Erguel owned land in the surrounding valley and held the office over the church at

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Sonvilier
Sonvilier is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). History Sonvilier is first mentioned in 1298 as ''Sunuilier''. In 1307 it was mentioned as ''Sonvelier''. Erguel Castle, now in ruins, was built south-east of the village in the 11th century. The castle was the center of government for the lands that the Lords of Arguel (or Erguel) ruled. In 1264 Otto von Erguel, who at the time lived in Basel, ceded the lands to the Prince-Bishop of Basel. In return the bishop granted him lands in Alsace. Under the Prince-Bishop the Erguel lands, including Sonvilier, became part of the seigniory of Erguel. During the 13th and 14th century a local noble family was mentioned in Sonvilier. During the 16th century the municipality was the largest in the Erguel and was home to a half dozen mills that were held in fief to the Prince-Bishop of Basel. After the 1 ...
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Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had a population of 1,898,533. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of Germanic and French influences. Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part. From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative ''région'' in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French Parliament in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est. On 1 January 2021, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin merged into the new European Collectivity of Alsace but remained part of the region Grand Est. Alsatian is an Alemannic dialect closely related ...
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List Of Castles In Switzerland
This list includes castles and fortresses in Switzerland. Entries list the name and location of the castle, fortress or ruins in each Canton in Switzerland. Aargau Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Basel-Land Basel-Stadt Bern Fribourg Geneva Glarus Graubünden (Grisons) Jura Lucerne Neuchâtel Nidwalden Obwalden Schaffhausen Schwyz Solothurn St. Gallen Ticino Thurgau Uri Vaud Valais Zug # Buonas Castle, Risch # Freudenberg Castle, Risch-Rotkreuz # Hünenberg Castle, Hünenberg # St. Andreas Castle, Cham # Wildenburg Castle (Zug), Baar # Zug Castle, Zug Zürich # Au Castle, Wädenswil # Ruins of Baldern Castle, Stallikon # Ruins of Oberes Baliken Castle, Wald # Ruins of Bernegg Castle, Hinwil # Ruins of Alt-Bichelsee Castle, Bichelsee # Ruins of Breitenlandenberg Castle, Turbenthal # ...
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Bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German influence. Friar describes it as a "free-standing, fighting-tower".Friar (2003), p 36. Its defensive function is to some extent similar to that of a keep (also known as a ''donjon'') in English or French castles. However, the characteristic difference between a bergfried and a keep is that a bergfried was typically not designed for permanent habitation. Overview The living quarters of a castle with a bergfried are separate, often in a lower tower or an adjacent building called a ''palas'' (an English-style keep combines both functions of habitation and defence.) Consequently, a bergfried could be built as a tall slender tower with little internal room, few vaults and few if any windows. The bergfried served as a watchtower and as a ref ...
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La Ferrière, Switzerland
La Ferrière is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). History Founded in 1590 as ''les Hautes Montagnes d'Erguël'' by settlers from Valangin. In 1749 it was known as ''La Ferriere'' or ''Communauté des Montagnes de Saint-Imier''. The village was owned by the Prince-Bishop of Basel and was part of the seigniory of Erguel. The municipal charter was created in the early 17th century and confirmed in 1623 and again in 1672. During the Thirty Years War the village was attacked and burned. Originally there was little land and no forests attached to the village. The lack of arable land and the resulting revenue made it very difficult for the village to meet their obligations. In 1767, the Prince-Bishop granted Erguel Castle and the surrounding lands to La Ferrière to hold as a fief. In 1806, the political municipality of La Ferrière inherited ...
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Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. Until the 20th century, historians generally viewed it as a continuation of the religious struggle initiated by the 16th-century Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg attempted to resolve this by dividing the Empire into Lutheranism, Lutheran and Catholic Church, Catholic states, but over the next 50 years the expansion of Protestantism beyond these ...
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Castellan
A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of the medieval idea of the castellan as head of the local prison. The word stems from the Latin ''Castellanus'', derived from ''castellum'' "castle". Sometimes also known as a ''constable'' of the castle district, the Constable of the Tower of London is, in fact, a form of castellan, with representative powers in the local or national assembly. A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1194, Beatrice of Bourbourg inherited her father's castellany of Bourbourg upon the death of her brother, Roger. Similarly, Agnes became the castellan of Harlech Castle upon the death of her husband John de Bonvillars in 1287. Initial functions After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, foreign tribes migrated into ...
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Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website = www.bern.ch Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale, link=no, it, città federale, link=no, and rm, citad federala, link=no). According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental institutions such as the Federal Assembly and Federal Council. However, the Federal Supreme Court is in Lausanne, the Federal Criminal Court is in Bellinzona and the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Patent Court are in St. Gallen, exemplifying the federal nature of the Confederation. ...
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Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Biel/Bienne lies on the language boundary between the French language, French-speaking and German language, German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and is bilingual throughout. ''Biel'' is the German name for the town; ''Bienne'' its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since 1 January 2005, the official name has been "Biel/Bienne". Until then, the town was officially named Biel. The town lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (, ), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister town, Nidau. The towns Neuchâtel, Solothurn, and Bern (the Capital (political), c ...
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Bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly. Another official sometimes referred to as a ''bailiff'' was the ''Vogt''. In the Holy Roman Empire a similar function was performed by the ''Amtmann''. British Isles Historic bailiffs ''Bailiff'' was the term used by the Normans for what the Saxons had called a '' reeve'': the officer responsible for executing the decisions of a court. The duty of the bailiff would thus include serving summonses and orders, and executing all warrants issued out of the corresponding court. The district within which the bailiff operated was called his '' bailiwick'', even to the present day. Bailiffs were outsiders and free men, that is, they were not usually from the bailiwick for which they were responsible. Throughout Nor ...
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Bishop Of Basel
The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bishop of Basel has not resided in the city of Basel since 1528. Solothurn is the seat of the Bishop of Basel. Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss cantons of Aargau, Basel-Country, Basel-City, Berne, Jura, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, and Zug. Ordinaries *Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee (1576–1608) *Wilhelm Rinck von Balderstein (1609–1628) *Johann Heinrich von Ostein (1629–1646) *Beat Albrecht von Ramstein (1646–1651) *Johann Franz Reichsritter von Schönau (1651–1656) *Johann Konrad von Roggenbach (1657–1693) *Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein (1693–1705) * Johann Konrad Reichsfreiherr von Reinach-Hirzbach (1705–1737) *Jakob Sigismund von Reinach-Steinbrunn (1737–1743) *Josef Wilhelm Ri ...
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