The Thunstetten

Commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

was a medieval monastery of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

in the Swiss municipality of

Thunstetten Thunstetten is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Thunstetten is first mentioned in 1220 as ''Tunchsteten''. Individual artifacts from the neolithic era have been found in ...

in the Canton of

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 ...

. Today the lands house Thunstetten Castle, which is a national landmark of Switzerland.

History

Commandery

The commandery was established prior to 1210 for the Knights Hospitaller by an unknown benefactor. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the commandery lands grew with donations and purchases from local nobles. At the height of their power, they owned land in Oberaargau, the Bernese Seeland and around

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

. They bought vineyards in

Twann Twann (french: Douanne ) was a municipality in the district of Nidau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Tüscherz-Alfermée and Twann merged into the municipality of Twann-Tüscherz. History Twann is f ...

and rights over village churches in

Lotzwil Lotzwil is a municipality in the district of Oberaargau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Lotzwil is first mentioned in 1194 as ''Locewillare''. During the Middle Ages the major landowners in Lotzwil included St. Urban's Abbey an ...

Ursenbach Ursenbach is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Ursenbach is first mentioned in 1201 as ''Ursibach''. During the Middle Ages the major landholders in Ursenbach were the Lords ...

Egerkingen Egerkingen is a municipality in the district of Gäu in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. History Egerkingen is first mentioned in 1201 as ''in Egrichen''. In 1212 it was mentioned as ''in Egerchingen''. Geography Egerkingen has an ar ...

, Aetigen,

Rohrbach Rohrbach or Röhrbach may refer to: Places Municipalities in Switzerland *Rohrbach, Switzerland, in the canton of Bern Municipalities in Germany *Rohrbach, Bavaria, in the district of Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria *Rohrbach, Birkenfeld, in the district o ...

and Waldkirchen (now part of

Niederbipp Niederbipp is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2020 the former municipality of Wolfisberg merged into Niederbipp. History Niederbipp is first mentioned in 968 as ''Pipp ...

). The commandery was granted limited rights of citizenship by its neighboring cities of

Wangen an der Aare Wangen an der Aare is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. This small town lies between Olten and Solothurn in rural surroundings on the Aare, a major river of the west-central lowland ...

(1320) and Bern (starting in 1329). The commandery complex consisted of the commander's house (now the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

), the 18th-century Church of St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

—although the

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

possibly dates from the founding of the commandery—and the monastery building. The commandery at Thunstetten was often under the authority of commander at

Münchenbuchsee Münchenbuchsee is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is famous as the birthplace of the painter Paul Klee. On 1 January 2023 the former municipality of Diemerswil merged to f ...

, though each house would have its own

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

. In 1274 Thunstetten was granted its own

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

. At the start of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Reformation in Switzerland The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

in 1528, Peter Englisberg, the commander of both houses at the time, supported the secularization of this commandery as well as his own, for which he received a castle as his reward. The lands of the commandery were seized and became the property of the City of

.Thunstetten municipal website
accessed 17 May 2012

Schloss Tunstettin

2012-03-17-Supra Argovio (Foto Dietrich Michael Weidmann) 259

The lands of the former commandery were acquired about 1710 by

Landvogt A ''Vogt'' (plural ''Vögte'') was a title and office in the Old Swiss Confederacy, inherited from the feudal system of the Holy Roman Empire, corresponding to the English '' reeve''. The German term ''Vogtei'' is ultimately a loan from Latin '' ...

Hieronymus von Erlach, who proceeded to have Thunstetten Castle built on its grounds over the next several years. He then had the lands of the estate established by the city as his domain, in exchange for his prior one in

Inkwil Inkwil is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Inkwil is first mentioned in 1262 as ''Inchwile''. Geography Inkwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 49.1% is used for agricu ...

. The castle is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The castle was built as a country manor house in the Bernese Oberaargau, by the noted architect Joseph Abeille. The castle remained with the Erlach family until 1746. From that year until 1970, it passed through the hands of numerous owners. In 1970 the ''Stiftung Schloss Thunstetten'' (Thunstetten Castle Foundation) took over management of the building and grounds. Today rooms in the castle or the entire castle can be rented for events or meetings.

References

{{coord missing, Switzerland Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Preceptories of the Knights Hospitaller in Switzerland Buildings and structures in the canton of Bern 1528 disestablishments in Europe 16th-century disestablishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy