Erguel Castle () is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the municipality of Sonvilier in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

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 ...

. It is the best preserved castle ruin in the French-speaking

Bernese Jura Bernese Jura (, , German: Berner Jura) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten Administrative divisions of Switzerland, administrative divisions of the Cantons of Switzerland, cant ...

History

During the 11th century, the Lords of

Erguel Erguël is a medieval seigniory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel, and under protectorate of Biel/Bienne, under military jurisdiction from 1335, in the now called valley of St.-Imier, in the now Bernese Jura, Switzerland. The Sire of the ...

, or Arguel, moved from

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

and settled in the village of Sonvilier. Exactly when they built Erguel Castle on a hill south-east of the village is unknown, but in 1178 and 1184 Heinrich von Erguël was mentioned ruling over the region.Burgenwelt.de - History section of Château d'Erguël
accessed 13 April 2012 The knights of Erguel owned land in the surrounding valley and held the

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

office over the church at Saint-Imier. The family kept the castle, the surrounding land and the lordship until 1264 when Otto von Erguel, who at the time lived in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, ceded them to the

Prince-Bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

. In return the bishop granted him lands in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. The bishop appointed a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

for the castle, but administered the extended lands out of

Biel Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

. The castle was the southernmost point in the episcopal dominion. Under Bishop Heinrich of Isny (1275-1286) the castle was strengthened and expanded. The currently visible parts of the castle probably all date to this construction period. It can be assumed that the visible parts of the plant today to go back to that time. In 1368 Bishop Johann of Venningen went to war against

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Troops from Bern and Biel attacked, captured and burned Erguel Castle. It must have been rebuilt, since in 1417 there was a

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

at the castle. Later, it was used as a prison for several decades. In 1617 Bishop Wilhelm Rinck of Baldenstein repaired the castle and stationed a garrison there to protect his land against the city of Biel. During the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

, in 1636, it was used as housing and storage for Swedish troops. In 1750, the diocese decided to lease the half-ruined castle. However, the lease contained the condition that the dilapidated building must be well maintained and they were unable to find a tenant. Four years later, the diocese decided to just abandon it and let the castle collapse. The castle estates were awarded to the municipality of La Ferrière in 1767 and acquired in 1847 by the municipality of Sonvilier. During the 19th and 20th centuries there were several archeological digs and attempts to preserve the site. The first excavations were carried out on the castle grounds in 1884. The walls were repaired in 1929-1931 and 1964-1965. The most recent complete renovation of the ruins was in 1997-1998.

Castle site

The castle is a long, narrow structure that runs east-west on an exposed hilltop south of Sonvilier. The castle gate house is on the eastern side of site and is still visible. A large, round bergfried is south and west of the gate house. The tower has thick walls at the base and was probably about tall though only part of the tower still exists. The living quarters and court stretch west of the gate house and bergfried. Portions of the walls of the chapel, stable and kitchens in the living quarters still exist. A map from 1617 indicated that there was a semi-circular tower as the western end of the castle, but no trace of the tower still exists.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Erguel Castle Castles in the Canton of Bern Ruined castles in Switzerland

History

Castle site

See also

References

External links