Allmendingen Castle

Allmendingen Castle (Schloss Allmendingen) sits in the village of Allmendingen in the canton of Bern, on the slope of the Aare valley between Bern and Thun. It is an early 17th-century summer residence surrounded by an old tree-filled park, and today it is private property best admired from outside.

What is Allmendingen Castle?

The present building, known as the Neues Schloss (New Castle), went up in 1607 as the summer seat of Kaspar von Graffenried, a member of the Bernese patriciate. It is a late-Gothic and Renaissance country house with a hipped roof and an octagonal stair tower on the outside. A door in the tower carries the date 1607.

In the 18th century, Schultheiss Isaak Steiger and his son Franz Ludwig Steiger enlarged the estate into a Baroque "campagne", a country seat outside the city. The plan is symmetrical: a central wing and two side wings enclose a sheltered entrance courtyard, the garden opens on the other side, and a working farm adjoins to the north. Later alterations date from 1740, 1755 and 1930-1936, with a renovation in 2007.

What happened to the Old Castle?

A medieval Altes Schloss once stood in the village itself. The lords of Allmendingen are documented only in the 13th century, and their heirs sold the estate to Interlaken Abbey in 1256. The ruin was still visible in 1729 but has since vanished. Traces of earlier fortifications were also found in the Grosser Hüenliwald forest.

Who has stayed here?

The best-known guest was Winston Churchill, who attended a festive lunch here with members of the Swiss Federal Council on 17 September 1946. The Steck family owned the castle for about a century, and it was put up for sale in 2023.

Can you go inside?

No. The estate is private, at Thunstrasse 11, and the interior is not open to visitors. From the road and surroundings you can see the facades, the tower and the old park trees. Treat it as a short stop on a village walk rather than a full-day destination.

How do you get there?

Allmendingen lies on the old Bern-Thun road close to the motorway, so a car is the easiest option. The village had a railway station from 1922 to 1982; today only buses serve it. It is a short trip from Bern, and about as short from Thun.

What else is nearby?

The village has roughly 500 residents and a farming character. The hamlet of Märchligen, with a manor house built in 1723 by Samuel Morlot, lies next door. Schadau Castle in Thun on Lake Thun makes a good addition to the route.

FAQ

When was Allmendingen Castle built? The current New Castle dates from 1607 and was altered in 1740, 1755 and 1930-1936.

Is the castle open to visitors? No, it is private. You can view it from the outside.

Is this the same Allmendingen as the one in Germany? No. This is a village in the canton of Bern, in the Konolfingen district, not the town in Baden-Württemberg.

Who owned the castle? First the von Graffenried family, then the Steigers, and for about a hundred years the Steck family. It went on sale in 2023.