Thun Castle in the city of Thun in the Swiss canton of Bern
Thun Castle (German: Schloss Thun) is a castle in the city of Thun, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It was built in the 12th century, today houses the Thun Castle museum and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
History
During the Early Middle Ages, there was a small fort and church on the top of the castle hill. The castle was built between 1180 and 1190 by Duke Berthold V of Zähringen, who constructed the still-preserved keep to the level of the Knights' Hall (German: Rittersaal). The 14 m tall Knights' Hall was built as the centerpiece of a monument to Zähringen power. However, the family never lived in the castle, preferring Burgdorf Castle. In 1218 it was inherited by the House of Kyburg, who built the upper levels above the Zähringen castle. A quarrel over who would rule the southern Kyburg lands led, in 1322, to Eberhard II von Kyburg murdering his brother Hartmann II at the castle. To protect his newly acquired land from the Habsburgs Eberhard II then sold them to Bern and was promptly given them back as a fief. The Kyburgs ruled over the region for nearly two centuries until a failed raid by Rudolf II on Solothurn, in 1382, started the Burgdorferkrieg (also Kyburgerkrieg). After several decisive Bernese victories the Kyburgs were forced to concede an unfavorable peace. In 1384 Bern bought Thun and Burgdorf, the most important cities of the Kyburg lands. The castle came under Bernese control and became the seat of their local administration.
Credit and thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial footage.
History
During the Early Middle Ages, there was a small fort and church on the top of the castle hill. The castle was built between 1180 and 1190 by Duke Berthold V of Zähringen, who constructed the still-preserved keep to the level of the Knights' Hall (German: Rittersaal). The 14 m tall Knights' Hall was built as the centerpiece of a monument to Zähringen power. However, the family never lived in the castle, preferring Burgdorf Castle. In 1218 it was inherited by the House of Kyburg, who built the upper levels above the Zähringen castle. A quarrel over who would rule the southern Kyburg lands led, in 1322, to Eberhard II von Kyburg murdering his brother Hartmann II at the castle. To protect his newly acquired land from the Habsburgs Eberhard II then sold them to Bern and was promptly given them back as a fief. The Kyburgs ruled over the region for nearly two centuries until a failed raid by Rudolf II on Solothurn, in 1382, started the Burgdorferkrieg (also Kyburgerkrieg). After several decisive Bernese victories the Kyburgs were forced to concede an unfavorable peace. In 1384 Bern bought Thun and Burgdorf, the most important cities of the Kyburg lands. The castle came under Bernese control and became the seat of their local administration.
Credit and thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial footage.
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TravelTranscript
00:00Thun Castle, German. Schloss Thun, is a castle in the city of Thun, in the Swiss canton of
00:11Bern. It was built in the 12th century. Today houses the Thun Castle Museum and is a Swiss
00:17heritage site of national significance. During the early Middle Ages, there was a small fort
00:23and church on the top of the castle hill. The castle was built between 1180 and 1190
00:28by Duke Berthold V of Zahringen, who constructed the still-preserved keep to the level of the
00:33Knight's Hall, German Rittersaal. The 14 meters, 46 feet, tall Knight's Hall was built as the
00:39centerpiece of a monument to Zahringen power. However, the family never lived in the castle,
00:44preferring Bergdorf Castle. In 1218 it was inherited by the House of Kyberg, who built
00:50the upper levels above the Zahringen Castle. A quarrel over who would rule the southern
00:55Kyberg lands led, in 1322, to Eberhard II von Kyberg murdering his brother Hartmann II at
01:01the castle. To protect his newly acquired land from the Habsburgs Eberhard II then sold them
01:07to Bern and was promptly given them back as a fief. The Kybergs ruled over the region for nearly
01:12two centuries until a failed raid by Rudolf II on Solothurn, in 1382, started the Bergdorfer
01:19Krieg, also Kyberger Krieg. After several decisive Bernese victories the Kybergs were forced to
01:24concede an unfavorable peace. In 1384 Bern bought Thun and Bergdorf, the most important cities of
01:31the Kyberg lands. The castle came under Bernese control and became the seat of their local
01:36administration. Daguerreotype photograph of Thun Castle, taken by Franziska Mollinger c.
01:421844 The massive roof, 1430-36, comes from the Bernese period. Due to the lack of residences
01:49in the castle, in 1429, an administrative and residential wing was added to the west of the keep.
01:56Built in late gothic style and known as the New Castle. The castle was the seat of the local court
02:01and since at least the 17th century there was a prison under the roof of the donjon.
02:06In 1886 a new prison was built on the castle grounds. Two years later, in 1888, the museum
02:13opened in the castle. For a time the jailer was also the ticket seller and guard for the museum.
02:18In 2006, the castle was bought by the city of Thun from the canton of Bern.
02:24Until the end of 2009, the Bernese Oberland regional court was based in the castle.
02:29The castle museum The Castle Museum is housed on the five floors of the tower and includes
02:34cultural and historic displays showing the development of the region over some 4,000 years.
02:39It is open daily between February and October, and on Sundays only for the rest of the year.
02:45The Great Hall is used for concerts or plays and can be used for private events.
02:50Thun, French Thoun, is a town and a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the
02:55canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located where the Arée flows out of Lake Thun, Thunersee,
03:0230 kilometers southeast of Bern. As of December 2018, the municipality has
03:07almost about 45,000 inhabitants and around 80,000 live in the agglomeration.
03:12Besides tourism, machine, and precision instrument engineering, the largest garrison in the country,
03:18the food industry, armaments, and publishing are of economic importance to Thun.
03:23The official language of Thun is the Swiss variety of Standard German,
03:27but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic-Swiss-German dialect.
03:32The area of what is now Thun was inhabited since the Neolithic age, mid-3rd millennium BC.
03:38During the Early Bronze Age there were a number of settlements along the lake shore in the Arée.
03:43A site at Rensenboel had a local chief or nobleman's grave which contained one of the
03:47richest collections of early Bronze Age artifacts in Europe. The Thun-Rensenboel axe, dating from
03:531800 BC, is one of the earliest examples of damascening techniques in the world.
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