Switzerland · Restored
Trachselwald Castle
Trachselwald Castle is a medieval castle in the municipality of Trachselwald in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, and is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Built from tuff stone, the complex developed from a 12th-century square keep and later additions including a palas, stair tower, granary and an 18th-century gatehouse. It has served as an administrative centre and prison and today houses exhibitions.
Its prime
1751
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1751
What Trachselwald Castle looked like in its prime.
Compact medieval castle of roughly squared tuff blocks with a prominent square keep (about 10 m per side) formed of pale volcanic tuff, adjacent multi-storey palas with larger 17th/18th-century windows and thinner walls, and a narrow cylindrical stair tower added in 1641 projecting from the main range. A decorative baroque-style gatehouse from 1751 frames the entrance beside ancillary buildings including a late-17th-century granary; roofs are pitched and the ensemble sits within its former curtain and service yards.
Its story
The story of Trachselwald Castle.
Trachselwald grew from a 12th-century square keep built of tuff stone, first held by the barons of Trachselwald, then by the barons of Rüti bei Lyssach and of Sumiswald, before the Sumiswald lords sold the castle and its surrounding lands to the city of Bern. A palas, a stair tower, probably raised by a master craftsman from Prismell in 1641, a granary and an 18th-century gatehouse completed the complex.
Under Bern the castle served as an administrative centre and prison. Niklaus Leuenberger, leader of the Swiss peasant war of 1653, was held here after his arrest on 19 June 1653 before being taken to Bern, where he was executed on 27 August. Mennonites were later imprisoned in the castle, some of them executed for beliefs that differed from the ruling Reformed Protestants. A Swiss heritage site of national significance, it now houses exhibitions.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1751.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Trachselwald Castle, including 2 interiors: palas interior / main chamber, dungeon / prison cells. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Trachselwald Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Trachselwald Castle.
The families that held Trachselwald Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Trachselwald
The castle's first lords; the barons of Trachselwald held it from its 12th-century origins.
Rüti bei Lyssach
Held by the barons of Rüti bei Lyssach after the Trachselwald line.
Sumiswald
Held by the barons of Sumiswald, who sold the castle and surrounding lands to the city of Bern.
Nearby
