Tellenburg Castle

Tellenburg Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Frutigen in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Tellenburg Castle
Tellenburg
Frutigen
Tellenburg Castle
Site information
Type	Castle
Owner	Canton of Bern
Open to the public	yes
Condition	ruined
Location
Tellenburg Castle
Coordinates	46.575884°N 7.652103°E / 46.575884; 7.652103
Site history
Built	1200
Built by	Lords of Kien
Materials	stone

History

The castle was built around 1200 by the Lords of Kien. After the Lords of Kien, the Lords of Wädenswil became the owners of the castle. They were followed by the Lords of Turn in 1312 and then later by the city of Bern. The original castle was expanded and repaired in the 13th or 14th centuries.

Under Bernese rule, the castle served as the administrative seat of the surrounding area until the creation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798. After 1798 it was used as a poor house. In 1885, the castle was gutted in a fire. It was never rebuilt and has slowly fallen into ruin.^[1]

Origin of the name

Tellenburg Castle was built as an administrative center and toll station. Telle at beginning of the name likely comes from the German word for toll, Zoll, while burg simply means fortress.^[1]

See also

• List of castles in Switzerland