Landshut 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' ...

of Utzenstorf 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

Under the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...

, the county of Uranestorfus was first mentioned in a record from 1009. The county stretched from the Seeland to the Oberaargau. While there may have been an earlier Burgundian castle, Landshut Castle was probably built in the second half of the 12th century for the Dukes of Zähringen. It was the seat of the Lords of Uzansdorf who ruled from 1175 until 1323. Under the Dukes, Landshut Castle was the administrative center of the '' Amt'' or

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Utzenstorf. When the Zähringen line died out, the ''Amt'' was inherited by the Counts of Kyburg. Under the Counts of Kyburg, the castle was expanded and renovated in the 12th century. It was first called ''Landeshuothe'' in 1253. During the Gümmenenkrieg in 1332, the castle was attacked by troops from Bern and Solothurn and destroyed. It was rebuilt shortly thereafter. At the end of the 14th century, the Kyburgs were forced to

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...

the castle and the ''Amt''. It was acquired by Rudolf von Ringoltingen from Bern, who combined several estates into the ''Amt''. In 1479, Ludwig von Diesbach inherited the estate from the Ringoltingen family. However, in 1514, the city 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 ...

bought the castle and ''Amt'' from the Diesbachs. Under Bernese rule, the castle became the center of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

of Landshut. In 1624-30, the castle was rebuilt on the old foundations. In 1812, the city of Bern sold the castle and estates to Rudolf Niklaus von Wattenwyl. Over the next three years, it was rebuilt into a country estate. The Wattenwyl family held the castle until 1846, when it was sold to the Sinner family. Almost half a century later, the castle was sold again. It passed through several owners until 1925 when the Rütimeyer in Alexandria family bought the estate. They held it until 1958 when it was sold back to the Canton of Bern. In 1988, a foundation acquired the castle, redecorated it to match the style of the 17th century and converted part of it into a museum. Today it is the home of the Schweizer Museum für Wild und Jagd (Swiss museum of Wildlife and Hunting).

References

External links

15th-century manuscript depiction of the destruction of the castle
in ''Tschachtlanchronik'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Landshut Castle Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern Castles in the Canton of Bern

History

See also

References

External links