Köniz Castle () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the

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

Köniz Köniz (, ) is a statistical town (though residents still regard it as a village) and a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district right on the southern border to Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of K� ...

of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The castle was originally built as a monastery and church for the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

Augustinian Canons The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...

. According to tradition, the church was established by the Burgundian monarchs

Rudolph II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

and Bertha, which places the founding year between 922 and his death in 937. Archeological excavations have found evidence of an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

church below the current structure. The oldest parts of the current building date from the 11th century and the college of Canons is first mentioned in 1208. The Canons at Köniz were quite powerful and controlled extensive holdings. They had direct authority over five large

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es between the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

and Sense rivers. The head of the Canons was also the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

over 29 additional parishes in the

Diocese of Lausanne The Bishop of Lausanne (French: ''Évêque de Lausanne'') was the principal ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Diocese of Lausanne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lausannensis''). History King Rudolphe I of Burgundy granted the Church of Lausanne ...

. In 1226

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Frederick II gave Köniz to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

as a

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 ...

.Swiss Castles.ch
accessed 6 May 2014 However, many local nobles and religious leaders objected to this sudden transfer. For almost twenty years the ownership of the monastery and its extensive landholdings and rights were tied up in courts. Finally in 1243 a bishop's court ruled in favor of the Knights. The population of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

boycotted services in Köniz for another ten years, until 1253. During the 13th and 14th centuries the Commandery gained authority over the parish in Bern itself as well as other nearby parishes. The Commandery never had very many knights or lay brothers in residence, but most of the knights came from noble families in Switzerland. In 1388 Bern acquired control over the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Aarburgund, which included Köniz. This gave the Commandery religious control over Bern, while Bern had secular control over Köniz and the Commandery. For the next century, Bern struggled to regain religious authority over itself. The first step was beginning construction of the

Bern Minster Bern Minster () is a Swiss Reformed cathedral (or minster) in the old city of Bern, Switzerland. Built in the Gothic style, its construction started in 1421. Its tower, with a height of , was only completed in 1893. It is the tallest cathedr ...

in 1421. In 1485 they established the college of Canons of St. Vincent and separated from the Commandery. In 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and attempted to secularize the religious houses throughout the Canton. The Knights of the Commandery fled Köniz and refused the give up the rights to the building and their estates. In the following year, Bern annexed the Commandery buildings. However, in 1542, the powerful Teutonic Order forced Bern to return the buildings in Köniz. They offered to sell it back to Bern in 1552, but the city judged it too expensive. The Knights continued to collect rents from their lands, but lost their military and judicial authority. In 1610 the main building was rebuilt and renovated. A west wing was added to the building in 1664. A granary was added in 1724. In 1729, the Canton of Bern decided to buy the buildings from the Knights and converted it into a district administration building. The Canton completely renovated it in 1785-87. Following the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

the district was dissolved and the building was used by several different institutions. It was an educational institution for boys from 1836–75, then for girls from 1875-89. In 1825 the west wing became the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

for the former monastery church. In 1890 it became an institution for the blind, which operated until 1919. From 1925 until 1994 it was a girls' home and school. In 1994 it was sold to the community and part of it was converted into an artist's space, art gallery and meeting center, known as the Kulturhof. In December 2011 the municipality voted to create the ''Schlosszone Köniz'', a mixed use zone that includes the church, castle buildings, cemetery and green spaces. The ''Schlosszone'' will allow both businesses to develop in the area and help fund the restoration and maintenance of the historic buildings. Today the Swiss Reformed parish of Köniz uses the Commandery church as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. The castle buildings house a restaurant, a music school, the Bern School Museum and the Kulturhof.Kulturhof main page
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The commandery church

Portions of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

were built in the Romanesque style in the 11th century, above an earlier church. In the 13th century the nave was extended and a bell tower was added on the north side. A new

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

was added to the building in 1310. In the 16th century the church was rebuilt in the late-

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. New windows were added to the southern nave wall and the ceilings were redone. A strip painting showing three saints is still visible from that project. After the Protestant Reformation, much of the art and sculpture were removed from the building. At some point before the castle was sold to Bern in 1729, the church choir was redone in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. The entire building was renovated again in 1781-87. During the renovation, an organ loft and a five-part

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

case were added by Karl Josef Maria Bosshardt. In 1937, Ernst Linck and Leo Steck added stained glass windows that represented the history of the church of Köniz. The most recent renovation was in 1981-83.Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte GSK, from GSK: Kunstführer durch die Schweiz. Bern
accessed 7 May 2014

List of the Komtur of Köniz

* Heinrich, um 1241, 1262 * Burkard, 1256 * Goezinus, 1263 * Konrad von Fischerbach, 1268, 1292 * Burkard von Schwanden, 1275 * Volpert, 1277 * Heinrich von Blansingen, 1279 * Werner Fasser, 1309, 1319 * Konrad Küchlin, 1310 * Otto von Schliengen, 1312 * Konrad von Sigolsheim, 1319-1322 * Peter von Strassburg, 1325-1329 * Konrad von Kramburg, 1331-1338 * Ulrich von Dettingen, 1344 * Hartmann von Ballwil, 1345-1346 * Heinrich von Dettingen, 1348-1355 * Mangold von Brandis, 1356 * Roman von Kuchimeister, 1356 * Werner von Brandis, 1357 * Ulrich von Königsegg, 1357/1358 * Franz Senno, 1364, 1398 * Vinzenz von Bubenberg, 1365-1368 * Friedrich von Ebersberg, 1368 * Günther von Strassburg, 1373-1376 * Arnold Schaler, 1377-1379 * Johann von Gerstungen, 1386-1388 * Johann Böcklin, 1392 * Henmann von Erlach, 1408-1414 * Daniel von Schletten, 1418, 1430 * Hans von Neuenhausen, 1442-1444 * Hans Truchsess von Rheinfelden, 1445-1451 * Henmann von Erlach, 1452-1454 * Rudolf von Rechberg, 1460, 1476 * Andreas Schmitt, 1462 * Christoph Reich von Reichenstein, 1485, 1500 * Rudolf von Andlau, 1497 * Rudolf von Friedingen, 1503-1519 * Albrecht von Breitenlandenberg, 1519-1523 * Hans Heinrich von Vogt von Altensumerau und Prasberg, 1523-1528

Gallery

File:Schloss Köniz - Kirche.JPG, Commandery Church File:Köniz ehemalige Komturei Kirche DSC05310.jpg, Stained glass inside the Commandery Church File:Köniz ehemalige Komturei Kornhaus DSC05299.jpg, Commandery granary File:Köniz ehemalige Komturei Ritterhaus DSC05318.jpg, The Knights' hall File:Schloss Köniz DSC05858.jpg, A castle outbuilding, today a school museum and restaurant

References

External links