The Hexenturm is a stone tower in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
Sarnen
Sarnen is a small List of towns in Switzerland, historic town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the canton of Obwalden situated on the northern shores of Lake Sarnen () in Switzerland. It has a population of just ov ...
in the
canton of
Obwalden
Canton of Obwalden or Obwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Sarnen. It is traditio ...
in
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 a Swiss
heritage site of national significance. The name ("
witch tower") refers to its use as a prison for suspected witches in the 17th century. Today it houses the Cantonal Archives of Obwalden.
History
The tower was built around 1285/86 (determined by
Dendrochronological dating) as the residence tower of larger castle complex, the ''Unteren Burg von Sarnen'' or Lower Sarnen Castle. The castle was built for the von Kellner family who were knights in service to the
Murbach Abbey
Murbach Abbey () was a famous Benedictine monastery in Murbach, southern Alsace, in a valley at the foot of the Grand Ballon in the Vosges.
The monastery was founded in 727 by Eberhard, Count of Alsace, and established as a Benedictine house ...
. The first member of the family to appear in records is the ''cellarius'' Heinrich at the monastery in 1229. The family name may be a form of the title and office that he held. The sons of Heinrich and his brothers were the knights Niklaus and Heinrich Kellner who built the castle.
Niklaus probably lived in Sarnen, while his brother lived in Lucerne. In 1291 the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
bought the town of
Lucerne
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
and the
Unterwalden
Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas'' ("between the forests"), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', now tw ...
estates, including the castle and surrounding farms, from Murbach Abbey. The Kellner family became
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s of the Habsburg-Laufenburg line. When the
Everlasting League was created on 1 August 1291, the Kellners found themselves at odds with their neighbors and by 1308 they had been driven out.
The last Kellner, Heinrich, died in 1348.
[
After the Kellners were forced out, the Landenburg family occupied the castle. The 15th century ]White Book of Sarnen
The ''White Book of Sarnen'' () is a collection of medieval manuscripts compiled in the late 15th century by Hans Schriber, state secretary (''Landschreiber'') in the Swiss Confederation canton Obwalden. This volume, 258 pages in length, was give ...
contains a story about how in the early 14th century local Swiss patriots stormed a castle and burned it on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
while the pro-Habsburg nobleman was attending Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
. Traditionally it was believed that the attack happened to nearby Landenberg Castle
Landenberg Castle is a ruined castle atop a hill in the municipality of Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. In the 18th century an armory and firing range were built on the site. The Landenberg Armory is a Swiss heritage site of n ...
, though more recent research indicates that it may have been the Hexenturm.[
By the 15th century, the tower was a prison for the Canton of Obwalden. In the 16th century it was repaired and occasionally used to store powder and records. During the 17th century ]witch-hunt
A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...
s the tower was used to hold accused witches, leading to the name. At some time before 1798 the prison cell at the top of the tower was demolished. The fortifications around the tower gradually fell into disrepair and in the 19th century were demolished and replaced with terraces. In 1877 it was supposed to become a museum. A new entrance was built and some of the old windows were bricked up, but the museum never opened. Today the cantonal archives are stored in the tower.[
]
See also
List of castles and fortresses in Switzerland
References
External links
Swiss Castles entry on the Hexenturm
{{Castles of Obwalden
Castles in Obwalden
Cultural property of national significance in Obwalden