Tellenburg Castle

Frutigen, Switzerland

Tellenburg Castle was built around 1200 by the Lords of Kien. After the Lords of Kien, the Lords of Wädenswil became the owners of the castle. They were followed by the Lords of Turn in 1312 and then later by the city of Bern. The original castle was expanded and repaired in the 13th or 14th centuries.

Under Bernese rule, the castle served as the administrative seat of the surrounding area until the creation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798. After 1798 it was used as a poor house. In 1885, the castle was gutted in a fire. It was never rebuilt and has slowly fallen into ruin.

Tellenburg Castle was built as an administrative center and toll station. Telle at beginning of the name likely comes from the German word for toll, Zoll, while burg simply means fortress.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Lötschbergstrasse 16, Frutigen, Switzerland

See all sites in Frutigen

Details

Founded: c. 1200
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Felsenburg Castle (5,1 km)

Old City of Berne (44,1 km)
Bern Minster (44 km)
Zytglogge (44,2 km)
Federal Palace of Switzerland (44,1 km)
French Church (44,3 km)
Nydeggkirche (44 km)
Sion Cathedral (44,2 km)
Majorie Castle (44,1 km)
Thun Castle (20,5 km)

User Reviews

Graham Trafford (5 years ago)
Lovely old castle, but closed for the winter, so couldn't go inside and up to the top!

Wasif Janjua (6 years ago)
Less a castle.. more a mansion.. but now lying in ruin.. the dizzying walk all the way to the top on the narrow staircase is frightening if you have fear of heights ... but really worth the walk once you get to the top... the views are stunning...!!!

madmike 88252 (6 years ago)
Nice place to stay and have some pic-nic, also places where you can do a campfire.

Melissa Wilkerson (7 years ago)
I walked from Frutigen to Kandersteg one day and I stopped to eat lunch in the ruins of this castle. What an amazing experience to get to lunch in the ruins of 900 year old castle! The ruins are beautiful and you can really connect with the past as you sit and eat your lunch. Definitely one of the highlight of my trip!

Lancelot Lancelot (7 years ago)
Beautiful and old tower with a scary stairs ;) A wonderful view from the top.

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Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

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.