The Burg Grenchen, also known as Bettleschloss, was a

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles a ...

located above the present-day municipalities of

Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...

and Bettlach in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

, Switzerland. It is one of the early clearing castles in the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

History

Originally, the castle consisted of a wooden fort and a rampart. Around the year 1150, it became a stone castle with a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

and several outbuildings. The main castle is situated on the ''Schlossfluh'', the lower castle on the ''Hofacherfluh''. By the year 1200, the outbuildings were enlarged and an oven was integrated. The castle was inhabited until the early 14th century. In 1583, when a prison tower was to be built in Grenchen, the Solothurn Council gave clearance for the ruins of the castle to be used as a stone quarry. In 1930, Germann Leimer discovered a treasure trove from the 14th century at the castle area. The trove contained 300 silver planchets (prefabricated coins), some coins, a small silver bar and a bar iron. In the years 1959 and 1961, the ''Museumsgesellschaft Grenchen'' had initiated the archaeological research of the castle. After the excavations, the masonry of the ruin was restored and preserved. Since then, the finds of the excavations and a model of the castle have been exhibited in the ''Kultur-Historisches Museum Grenchen''. In 2011, the ''Historischer Verein Bettlach'' and the ''Museumsgesellschaft Grenchen'' carried out an ''Action day: Burg Grenchen - Bettleschloss''. The ruins were freed from the growing vegetation, the walls were repaired, and the castle was renewed. The castle's remains are now open to hikers via a trailhead beginning near Bettlach.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Burg Grenchen Grenchen Ruined castles in Switzerland Castles in the canton of Solothurn