Unspunnen Castle

Wilderswil, Switzerland

Unspunnen Castle, likely constructed in the early 12th century, overlooks the city of Interlaken. The castle was the center of a 13th-14th century fief of an Oberland barons, though the name of the barons or the castle builder is unknown. The cave castle of Rotenfluh at Tschingelsatz and Unspunnen Castle (first mentioned in 1232 as Uspunnun) were used to guard the late medieval Lütschinenbrücke, a bridge at Gsteig near Interlaken.

In the 13th century it belonged to the Herrschaft of Burkart of Thun, who acquired it through his 1224 marriage to the family of the Baron of Wädenswil. A division of inheritance, possibly in 1280, cut the Herrschaft in half, the Baron of Eschenbach got the castle and the surrounding villages while the Baron of Weissenburg got Rotenfluh Castle along with other villages. After the assassination of Albert I of Germany by his nephew John in 1308 the Habsburg in Austria claimed the Eschenbach lands, but in 1318 they pledged these lands to the Baron of Weissenburg as collateral. In 1332, the peasants of the surrounding villages unsuccessfully rose up against Johann of Weissenburg and the leaders were imprisoned in the castle. In 1334, the Oberhasli region was invaded by Bern and the castle was besieged. After Bern took the castle, the prisoners were freed, though the barons retained the castle.

After the Bernese victory in the Battle of Laupen in 1339, the barons were forced to pledge the Unspunnen and Rotenfluh castles as part of the peace settlement. A few years later, in 1342, the Habsburgs redeemed this pledge and then pledged it on to their followers, including the lords of Interlaken, Hallwyl and Kyburg. During the Battle of Sempach in 1386, Bern occupied the area and in 1397 paid off the mortgage. In the next year they sold the castle and lands to the von Seftigen and von Scharnachtal families, who were citizens of Bern. In 1418 and again in 1515, Bern bought the lands back from the families' heirs. Bern placed the Unspunnen lands directly under the city's authority in 1529. In 1762 the lands were transferred to the administration of Interlaken and the castle was allowed to fall into disrepair. The ruins became famous through the Unspunnenfest in 1805 which led to regular cleaning and repairs of the ruins.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

محمد يوسف برزق (3 years ago)
Very nice view
Saeed Alshehri (3 years ago)
Very nice
Nathalie Heitz (3 years ago)
Best experience of my life. I went there by myself and stayed for a good 45-60 mins. No one else ever came so I had the entire castle to myself.
Anna Sjokvist (3 years ago)
Smaller than anticipated, but very beautiful. You can walk around both outside and inside the ruin. A fun stop if you're passing by!
Albert Gonzalez (4 years ago)
This is a proper old castle. Safe enough for self exploration. It is only 20-30 minutes walk (hike) from Innsbruck West, so do not hesitate to come here if you have a couple of spare hours in Innsbruck. You can get some Swisskey or beer on the way here from an authentic brewery. The views on the valley are worth the road.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).