Spiez Castle
27 August 2022
Traces of settlement in the area of Spiez (Canton of Bern) date back to the prehistorical periods. There are also traces of a Celtic settlement. It is assumed that the area of the castle was already occupied and fortified by the German-speaking Alemanni in the 7th century
Spiez was mentioned for the first time in the last will of Bishop Heddo of Strasbourg (circa 697-776). He gave the church and its rights to the Alsatian cloister in Ettenheim (Alsace).
The castle’s history was shaped for almost 700 years by three families, the barons of Strättligen, the lords of Bubenberg, and the von Erlachs from Bern.
The first proprietors of the Barony and castle of Spiez were the Barons von Strättligen in the middle of the 13th century. This dynasty sold the barony and castle of Spiez to the lords of Bubenberg in 1338.
The Bubenbergs were one of the leading families in Bern. They sold the property to the von Erlach family in 1516. The Erlachs owned the castle for nine generations. In 1879, Hermann Karl von Wilke (1827-1896) purchased the castle on the Lake of Thun (Thunersee).
The garden, reconstruction. Photo: TES
He extended and renovated the complex. Rosina Magdalena Gemuseus-Riggenbach (1831-1919) of Basel and Dr. Wilhelm Schiess (1869-1929) were the last owners.
The Spiez Castle Foundation (Stiftung Schloss Spiez) maintains the castle and garden.
(Source and further information: Home (schloss-spiez.ch)
