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Neu-Thierstein Castle was founded in 1100 and a new building was built around 1294/95. The castle was apparently built by the Saugern-Pfeffingen family as a seat for a Kastvogtei (or a vogt with authority over a religious structure) who ruled over Beinwil Abbey. The first mention of the castle comes from 1321 when it was called Bello. As heirs of the Saugern-Pfeffingen family, in the late 12th Century, the count of Thierstein took over the castle and the Kastvogtei post. By 1400 it was known as Thierstein Castle. The castle was occupied by the Canton of Solothurn in 1445, 1467 and 1499. After the extinction of the counts of Thierstein in 1522, Solothurn acquired the castle and made it the administrative center of the secular bailiwick of Thierstein. In 1798 the castle was sold for demolition. However, in the 19th Century, the destruction of the castle are stopped by private individuals who wanted to repair the ruins. The ruins were surveyed and archeologically investigated in 1985.
The castle ruins are on a small rocky outcrop above the municipality of Büsserach. The ruin consists of a residential tower with ancillary buildings. Traces of a bailey and the old gate house on the south side can still be seen.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.