Biberstein Castle (german: Schloss Biberstein) is a castle 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 ...

Biberstein Biberstein is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Biberstein is located on the north bank of the Aar River near Aarau. The town is a 17-minute bus ride from downtown Aarau. The neighboring ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

canton of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...

History

The municipality of Biberstein, probably including the castle, is first mentioned in 1280 which indicates a late 13th century construction date. The castle was built for the Counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg. By 1319 Biberstein was listed as a town, though no

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

or market was mentioned. In 1335 the Habsburgs sold the castle and town to Rudolf von Büttikon who established a

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

in the castle. After 1368 the Habsburgs attempted to secretly repurchase Biberstein Castle from the Knights by using a minor noble as a

straw purchase A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to t ...

r. However, the Knights refused an exchange or purchase.Swiss Castles.com - Biberstein
accessed 6 June 2016 By 1399 the town of Biberstein was fortified with a

ring wall A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two fortified towers or bastions of a castle, fortress, or town. Ancient fortifications Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the historical s ...

. In 1415 the city-state of Bern occupied part of Aargau including Biberstein, though the Knights continued to own and rule over the town and castle. During the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( gsw, Schwoobechrieg (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin") in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Hab ...

of 1499 Bernese troops occupied Biberstein Castle to protect their northern border. In 1527 Bern adopted the new faith of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and began to suppress the monasteries in their lands. In the following year a Bernese ''

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' occupied the castle and administered the lands around Biberstein. The Knights protested, but in 1535 the commander of the Knights, Johann von Hattstein, was forced to sell the castle to Bern, which gave the city

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

ownership. The document selling the Knights' estates is the last time Biberstein was referred to as a town. After 1535 the castle became the seat of one of the smallest ''vogtei'' in the Canton of Bern. In the period between 1535 and 1798 a total of 51 ''vogt'' ruled over the land. However, as one of the smallest and poorest ''vogtei'', most office holders sought additional or other appointments as soon as possible. In 1587 the castle was gutted by a fire. A suspected witch, Elsa Schiblerin, was accused of causing the fire and burned at the stake. Over the next few years the castle was rebuilt by the city of Bern.Castle website
accessed 6 June 2016 The castle was rebuilt as a more comfortable home for the resident ''vogt''. The Biberstein

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was painted above the main gate in 1627 and in 1643 Hans Balthasar Fisch painted the Bernese coat of arms on the tower. A fire in 1784 threatened the castle, but a quick response limited the damage to the roof. The 1798 French invasion and the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, m ...

swept away the old system of ''vogt'' and ''vogtei''. With the creation of the Canton of Aargau in the 1803

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

the three villages of the old ''vogtei''; Biberstein, Küttigen and Erlinsbach, were combined into one municipality and the castle became the property of the new canton. The castle was renovated in 1889 and became a home for children. It became a home for mentally handicapped adults in 1987.

Castle site

The castle sits on a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

hill above the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it desce ...

river. Of the medieval castle, only portions of the outer wall and the foundations of the

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

remain. The remaining walls and castle structure generally date to the 16th century reconstruction or later renovation projects.

Literature

References

External links

Aargau Canton Historic Preservation Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biberstein Castle Castles in Aargau

History

Castle site

See also

Literature

References

External links