Allmendingen Castle

Allmendingen bei Bern, Switzerland, Switzerland

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Allmendingen Castle near Bern, Switzerland, features an original High Medieval fortress built by the Lords of Allmendingen, which fell into ruin after they sold the estate and nearby Märchligen hamlet to Interlaken Monastery in 1256.

By the 16th century, cartographer Thomas Schöpf described the old square castle—measuring about 9 meters per side with 2.1-meter-thick walls—as "arx disruta" or broken, and its ruins remained visible into the 18th century before vanishing.

A new Renaissance-style castle emerged in the 17th century for the Graffenried family, marked by a 1607-dated tower door, later renovated in the 18th century with expansions like a garden courtyard by the Steiger family, serving as a patrician summer residence.