''Schweizerischer Burgenverein'' is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...

dedicated to the study and preservation of medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s in Switzerland. Established in 1927 as ''Schweizerische Vereinigung zur Erhaltung der Burgen und Ruinen'' ("Swiss association for the preservation of castles and ruins"; the current name was adopted in 1959), its original purpose was the securing of castle ruins to prevent their further decay. Under the presidency of Hugo Schneider (1955–1972), the focus shifted on archaeological research, including the first systematic excavations of many sites earlier acquired by the association. Since 1975, the association has been a member of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. During its earlier history, the association served an important function in the preservation of the historical record and archaeological research, a role which was increasingly taken over by state-financed cantonal offices for archaeology since the 1970s, causing the ''Burgenverein'' to shift its focus to scientific publication (a journal on medieval archaeology, ''Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters'', ISSN 1661-4550, since 1974) and education of the general public (the magazine ''Mittelalter – Moyen Age – Medioevo – Temp Medieval'' appeared since 1996). The association reported a number of 1,200 members as of 2013.

External links

*http://www.burgenverein.ch/ {{Authority control Castles in Switzerland Archaeological organizations Cultural heritage of Switzerland Educational organisations based in Switzerland Non-profit organisations based in Switzerland

See also

External links