Oberhofen Castle

Geschichte

Oberhofen Castle is a castle in the municipality of Oberhofen of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.HistoryDuring the High Middle Ages the Freiherr von Oberhofen built Balm Castle on a hill above the village. In 1200, a daughter of the family, Ita, married into the von Eschenbach family and gave this family the castle and village. In the 13th century they began a new, moated castle on the shores of Lake Thun. One of the last owners of the castle, Walter IV von Eschenbach, was assassinated along with King Albert I in 1308 by Albert's nephew John. In 1306 the von Eschenbach family was forced to sell Oberhofen and the castle to the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs appointed a succession of vassals to administer the area for them, especially the Kyburgs who also owned Thun Castle. Following the Kyburg defeat in the Burgdorferkrieg of 1383-84 and the decisive Habsburg defeat at the Battle of Sempach in 1386, Bern began to expand into the Austrian lands in the Bernese Oberland. They occupied Oberhofen in 1386 and were finally able to purchase or usurp all the land and rights from every feudal land holder in 1397. In the following year they sold the castle and Oberhofen Herrschaft to Ludwig von Seftigen, a citizen of Bern.

"Die romantische Schlossanlage mit mittelalterlichem Bergfried liegt, umgeben von der Kulisse der Berner Alpen, direkt am Ufer des Thunersees. Der weitläufige Park mit prachtvollem Schlossgarten gilt als einer der schönsten der Alpenregion und lädt zu Mussestunden im Grünen ein. Im Schloss befindet sich ein Museum, das neugierig macht, die zahlreichen Räume zu erkunden und sich auf die Spurensuche nach früheren Bewohnerinnen und Bewohnern zu begeben. Sonderausstellungen beleuchten verschiedene Aspekte der Schlossgeschichte."