Weissenau Castle is a ruined castle in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Unterseen , neighboring_municipalities= Beatenberg, Därligen, Habkern, Interlaken, Leissigen, Ringgenberg , twintowns = } Unterseen is a historic town and a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canto ...

of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The castle was first mentioned in the historic record as ''castrum Wissenowe'' in 1298. It is unclear whether it was built by the Lords of Rotenfluh (Unspunnen) and then given in

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

to the

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

of Weissenau or if it was built by the Weissenau family as the center of their estates. The castle was built on what was an island at the mouth of the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...

river into

Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...

. In the intervening centuries, the waterway silted up and the island became connected to shore. The

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

of Widen grew up across the channel from the castle and in 1362 was connected to the castle by a bridge. Around 1334, the Freiherr of Weissenau joined other local nobles in a war against the growing power of the city of Bern. After the defeat of the nobles, Weissenau was forced to sell the castle and Widen to

Interlaken Abbey , order = Augustinians , established = by 1133 , disestablished = 1528 , mother = , dedication = , diocese = Lausanne , churches = , founder = B ...

to pay his debts. In 1365, the Abbey moved the weekly markets and yearly fair away from Widen and to the village of Aarmühle (which is now

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss A ...

). Losing the market devastated Widen and it began to decline. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the new faith of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

and began imposing it on the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...

. The Abbey and its villages joined in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the Oberland, they secularized the Abbey and annexed all the Abbey lands. Weissenau Castle and the small village of Widen became a part of the Bernese bailiwick of Interlaken. The castle was used as a prison into the 16th century, but began to fall into disrepair and eventually collapsed. In 1655 and again in 1700 the bailiwick made plans to renovate and repair the castle. However, neither plan was implemented.

Castle site

Today only ruins remain of the castle. The castle residence and tower, portions of the castle building and the curtain wall are all still standing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissenau Castle Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern Castles in the Canton of Bern Ruined castles in Switzerland

History

Castle site

See also

References