When you visit Thun, Switzerland, you quickly become aware that wherever you are in the lovely town beside the Thunersee, you can see the shining white turrets of Thun Castle, high up on the Schlossberg (Castle Hill). Seeing the fairy-tale architecture wherever we went in Thun made us even more excited to explore the castle, so we headed up the long stairway which climbs the hill and then followed the cobbled lane that leads you to the castle entrance.
The five floors of the Keep now house a historical museum highlighting the region's history, as well as temporary exhibitions on a variety of cultural, historical and current issues. Concerts and other public events are held in the Knight's Hall.
The area of what is now Thun was inhabited since the Neolithic age, and since the early Bronze Age there were a number of settlements along the lake shore and Aare River. The region of Thun became a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. This is when the powerful Zähringer family, centered in Bern, brought the unruly nobles of central Switzerland under their control.
Information about the actual Barons of Thun is vague and they disappear from sources in the 13th century. There are two versions to how they lost the schlossberg and town. The first indicates that they lost Thun when defeated in battle by the Zähringers in 1190/91. The other version is based upon an arbitration agreement dated 1250 stating that they voluntarily handed over the castle and town to the Zähringers sometime in the middle of the 12th century.
Information about the actual Barons of Thun is vague and they disappear from sources in the 13th century. There are two versions to how they lost the schlossberg and town. The first indicates that they lost Thun when defeated in battle by the Zähringers in 1190/91. The other version is based upon an arbitration agreement dated 1250 stating that they voluntarily handed over the castle and town to the Zähringers sometime in the middle of the 12th century.
The current castle was built at the end of the 12th century by Duke Berthold V of Zähringen, who constructed the Keep to the level of the Knights' Hall as an administrative center for the region he ruled.
The Knights’ Hall (The Great Hall) would not have been used as accommodation, but as a ceremonial hall for receiving guests, entertaining, and formal functions such as treaty or alliance negotiations, swearing oaths and declaring war.
In 1218, the last Zähringer died and the town and castle passed to the Counts of Kiburg, who allied themselves alternately with the Hapsburgs and the Bernese and called themselves “Neu”-Kiburg. In 1322, they strategically put themselves under the dominion of Berne.
The Knights’ Hall (The Great Hall) would not have been used as accommodation, but as a ceremonial hall for receiving guests, entertaining, and formal functions such as treaty or alliance negotiations, swearing oaths and declaring war.
In 1218, the last Zähringer died and the town and castle passed to the Counts of Kiburg, who allied themselves alternately with the Hapsburgs and the Bernese and called themselves “Neu”-Kiburg. In 1322, they strategically put themselves under the dominion of Berne.
Over the years, the Neu-Kiburg family continued to alternate their alliances and through purchases in 1375 and 1384, Berne managed to acquire all the rights over the town and castle of Thun. The Bernese invested great sums in the renovation maintenance and extension of Thun Castle.
The massive top floor of the Keep (1430-36) comes from the Bernese period. The Keep would not have stood alone, but the residential and administrative quarters of the west wing have been renovated, demolished and/or incorporated into later structures over the centuries.
The massive top floor of the Keep (1430-36) comes from the Bernese period. The Keep would not have stood alone, but the residential and administrative quarters of the west wing have been renovated, demolished and/or incorporated into later structures over the centuries.
The castle museum collection displays the history of Thun including historical artifacts from Medieval times through the turn of the 20th century.
Below: The Crescent Moon Madonna Tapestry. (1425 - 1440) Made in Basel Switzerland. Donated to Scherzlingen Church by Anna von Velschen, born in Thun, she was wife of Petermann von Krauchthal, who was mayor of Thun in 1396-1398 and mayor of Berne 1407-1418.
Below: Heraldic Tapestry, Burgundian (2nd half of 15th century) part of the Burgundian Spoils of War at the Battle of Grandson in 1476 in which many soldiers from Thun took part.
Below: Throne used by the Mayors of Thun, (1767) He was a member of the Bernese Great Council, appointed for six-year terms of office by Berne and also served as the bailiff of Thun.
Below: Fulehung Costume - Legend states that in 1476, after the Battle of Murten, the soldiers of Thun brought back the court jester of Charles the Bold as war booty. They chased him through the town and called him “Fulehung” (Lazy Dog). The character resurfaced in 1900 as the main person at the September festival called Ausschiesset, celebrating the end of the shooting season.
From 1565-1570, aimed at improving the living quarters of the mayor and the official rooms, the residences of the castle bailiffs and the Bernese mayors were renovated and an administrative and residential addition known as the New Castle was added to the west of the keep.
above photo only: "2011-07-23 Lago de Thun (Foto Dietrich Michael Weidmann) 509" by Dietrich Michael Weidmann - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
We were a little disappointed that the castle doesn’t offer any rooms furnished in the periods from the castle, but the museum exhibits were interesting and the architecture of the castle was in itself well worth visiting. Also, the views when you climb into the turrets of the Keep were absolutely stunning!
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