| Biberstein Castle | |
|---|---|
Schloss Biberstein | |
| Biberstein | |
 Picture by Caspar Wolf (1735–1783) | |
  Biberstein Castle | |
| Coordinates | 47°24′47.60″N8°5′0.70″E / 47.4132222°N 8.0835278°E |
| Code | CH-AG |
| Site information | |
| Condition | preserved |
| Site history | |
| Built | around 1280 |
Biberstein Castle (German : Schloss Biberstein) is a castle in the municipality of Biberstein in the Swiss canton of Aargau.
The municipality of Biberstein, probably including the castle, is first mentioned in 1280 [1] which indicates a late 13th century construction date. The castle was built for the Counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg. By 1319 Biberstein was listed as a town, though no town charter or market was mentioned. In 1335 the Habsburgs sold the castle and town to Rudolf von Büttikon who established a Knights Hospitaller commandry in the castle. After 1368 the Habsburgs attempted to secretly repurchase Biberstein Castle from the Knights by using a minor noble as a straw purchaser. However, the Knights refused an exchange or purchase. [2] By 1399 the town of Biberstein was fortified with a ring wall. [1]
In 1415 the city-state of Bern occupied part of Aargau including Biberstein, though the Knights continued to own and rule over the town and castle. During the Swabian War of 1499 Bernese troops occupied Biberstein Castle to protect their northern border. In 1527 Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and began to suppress the monasteries in their lands. In the following year a Bernese vogt occupied the castle and administered the lands around Biberstein. The Knights protested, but in 1535 the commander of the Knights, Johann von Hattstein, was forced to sell the castle to Bern, which gave the city de jure ownership. The document selling the Knights' estates is the last time Biberstein was referred to as a town. [3]
After 1535 the castle became the seat of one of the smallest vogtei in the Canton of Bern. In the period between 1535 and 1798 a total of 51 vogt ruled over the land. However, as one of the smallest and poorest vogtei, most office holders sought additional or other appointments as soon as possible. [3] In 1587 the castle was gutted by a fire. A suspected witch, Elsa Schiblerin, was accused of causing the fire and burned at the stake. Over the next few years the castle was rebuilt by the city of Bern. [4] The castle was rebuilt as a more comfortable home for the resident vogt. The Biberstein coat of arms was painted above the main gate in 1627 and in 1643 Hans Balthasar Fisch painted the Bernese coat of arms on the tower. A fire in 1784 threatened the castle, but a quick response limited the damage to the roof. [2]
The 1798 French invasion and the Helvetic Republic swept away the old system of vogt and vogtei. With the creation of the Canton of Aargau in the 1803 Act of Mediation the three villages of the old vogtei; Biberstein, Küttigen and Erlinsbach, were combined into one municipality and the castle became the property of the new canton. The castle was renovated in 1889 and became a home for children. It became a home for mentally handicapped adults in 1987. [4]
The castle sits on a tuff hill above the Aare river. Of the medieval castle, only portions of the outer wall and the foundations of the donjon remain. The remaining walls and castle structure generally date to the 16th century reconstruction or later renovation projects.
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau.
The canton of Bern, or Berne, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the de facto capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the canton, displayed on a red-yellow background.
Lenzburg Castle is a castle located above the old part of the town of Lenzburg in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It ranks among the oldest and most important of Switzerland. The castle stands on the almost circular castle hill, which rises approximately 100 m (330 ft) over the surrounding plain but is only about 250 m (820 ft) in diameter. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 11th century, when the Counts of Lenzburg built it as their seat. The castle, its historical museum and the castle hill with its Neolithic burial grounds are listed as heritage sites of national significance.
Biberstein is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
The County of Baden was a condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy and is now part of the Swiss canton of Aargau. The county was established in 1415 after the Swiss conquest of the Aargau and was ruled as a shared condominium until 1798 when it became part of the short-lived Canton of Baden.
The Kyburg family was a noble family of grafen (counts) in the Duchy of Swabia, a cadet line of the counts of Dillingen, who in the late 12th and early 13th centuries ruled the County of Kyburg, corresponding to much of what is now Northeastern Switzerland.
Kasteln Castle is a castle in the municipality of Oberflachs in Canton Aargau, Switzerland. It is located west of the village on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by vineyards and woods. Today, it serves as a boarding school for students with behavioral problems. The immediately adjacent castle Ruchenstein was demolished in 1643, when the small fort was rebuilt into a Schloss Kasteln.
Schenkenberg Castle is a castle ruin above the municipality of Thalheim in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It was built in the 13th Century by the Habsburg dynasty, was the administrative seat for 260 years of a bailiwick of the city of Bern and fell into ruin in the 18th century.
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Aarburg Castle is a castle in the municipality of Aarburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is located high above the town Aarburg on a steep, rocky hillside. The castle was built around a medieval castle, which controlled the narrow point on the Aare river and served as the seat of Aarburg Vogt. It is classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Today it houses the Kantonale Jugendheim, for holding and rehabilitating juvenile offenders.
Burgdorf Castle is a castle in the municipality of Burgdorf in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
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.
Spiez Castle is a castle in the municipality of Spiez of the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
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The ruins of Grünenberg Castle, Schnabelburg Castle and Langenstein Castle are a complex of three interconnected castles on a hill above the municipality of Melchnau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The three castles formed the center of power of the Barons of Grünenberg in the Oberaargau region during the High Middle Ages.
Fraubrunnen Abbey is a former Cistercian nunnery in the municipality of Fraubrunnen in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.
The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a Swiss civil war during the Old Swiss Confederacy from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The Catholic "inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint Gall fought the Protestant cantons of Bern and Zürich as well as the abbatial subjects of Toggenburg. The conflict was a religious war, a war for hegemony in the Confederacy and an uprising of subjects. The war ended in a Protestant victory and upset the balance of political power within the Confederacy.
Bipp Castle is a partially ruined castle in the municipality of Oberbipp of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Altenburg Castle is a castle in the village of Altenburg bei Brugg in the municipality of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The castle and the Altenburg Roman ruins, which are integrated into it, are classified as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Trostburg Castle is a small castle in the municipality of Teufenthal in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
