Thun Castle

The city of Thun Switzerland sits at the western edge of Lake Thun (Thunersee), between Interlaken and Bern, the gate to the Bernese Oberland. The name of the lake comes from the city and not the other way round. Thun is derived from the Celtic word for a settlement fortified by a palisade and a settlement has existed here since the late stoneage. The Barons of Thun first appeared in historical records at the beginning of the 12th Century. Berthold V of Zähringen acquired lordship of the lands of Thun in 1186 and built Thun’s castle tower pretty much as it still appears today.The Romanesque era square keep with its four round corner turrets topped by pointed steeple roofs is of the classic Norman style of “Donjon” more commonly seen in France, one of the oldest surviving in this original form in Switzerland, and one of the prettiest with its white walls and red caps. The Counts of Kyburg who came into ownership in 1218 lasted about a hundred years until Eberhard of Kyburg notoriously murdered his rival brother Hartmann in a fight, stabbing him in the eye and throwing him from the tower in 1322. The rival Habsburgs made a claim on the castle as penalty for the crime, but the ruling Lords of Bern instead bought by castle and in 1384 made it the residence for their appointed governors of Thun. The castle has been in public control ever since, now belonging to the City of Thun. The newer part of the castle, the walls and entrance gate were added in 1429 serving as a city court and the tower as a history museum since 1888.