Grünenberg Castle

The Green Mountain castle on the Schlossberg of Melchnau in the Swiss canton of Bern was the ancestral home of the Barons of Green Mountain. The plant was built on wooden predecessors from the 11th century in the 12th century in stone. The first mention of the facility, located 1248th After several modifications and extensions of the castle came to the city of Bern, for some years einrichtete a small bailiwick there. From the 16th century Green Mountain has been left to decay, the masonry was used as a quarry. The castle tower was allegedly blown up for safety in the 19th century.

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Schlossberg Melchnau with the ruins of Green Mountain

Location

The ruins Green Mountain is located on the front of the castle hill of Melchnau, a range of hills which extends at right angles to the valley of the village Melchnauer Bach. The extreme promontory of the hill remained undeveloped and was separated by a wide moat of the castle. On the Schlossberg two other castles lined up, each separated by trenches neck, to the Green Mountain: at the other end of the Schlossberg Castle Long Stone, between the beak castle, which was perhaps only a feast house.

Plant

About the traces of an earlier, built of wood conditioning (probably from the 11th century ), the castle Grünenberg was built probably in the 12th century for the first time new in stone. This first stone castle was given a perimeter wall that occupies the entire plateau between the two neck trenches. In the north-western corner is the Tower, next to the so-called Südpalas. The castle gate in the southern wall was accessible from the outside via a ramp or a walkway along the hillside. In addition, in the southeastern corner of the castle, there was another palace - building, the so-called North Palas.

Inspired by the Südpalas there was the castle chapel, dedicated to St. George. Several renovation and expansion phases are detectable. In the 13th century the north Palas has been significantly expanded and now covered the entire width of the castle. This size allowed it to accommodate a representative Knights' Hall in the castle. In addition, the living room was created, as probably sat more than just a family of the Barons of Green Mountain on the plant.

The castle chapel was around 1270 a tiled floor, consisting of relief - decorated clay tiles from the production of the Cistercian monastery of St. Urban. The disc tray is now available in large parts in situ and is under protection of the Swiss Confederation and the Canton of Bern.

In the 14th century the castle Grünenberg experienced a basically laying remodeling. The modernization brought the castle residents a modern approach to the castle via a drawbridge and through a kennel. The former castle gate in the south wall was bricked up, the new usable space behind the courtyard was used for a furnace.

The castle was initially powered by a Sodbrunnen with water. The well shaft is about 27 feet deep and delivers to measurements in the 1990s, water in abundance. The neighboring plants were also equipped each with a Sodbrunnen, all ranged down into the same water -bearing layer. From the 14th century, the tradition, was the castle was supplied via a water line from Holzdeucheln from outside. This is consistent with the finding of Sodbrunnen excavation, because this had been deliberately backfilled in the 14th century and afterwards no longer used.

Research

The ruins Grünenberg was twice the subject of investigations. 1949 an excavation was started with the intention to find the original dimensions of the castle. When, surprisingly, the unique chapel floor came into view, the excavation concentrated under the direction of René Wyss of the castle chapel. After completion of the investigation of the clayey soil was a refuge.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the southern wall of falling down with the still the highest towering walls of the northern palace. The refuge above the chapel floor was also fallen into disrepair. After considerations to blow up or remove the hazardous constituents, they decided against it, and finally for a conservation measure. In the years 1992 to 1998, the remaining ruins were examined by the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern and preserved.

The disc tray has been restored and documented. In the place of refuge, he received a modern shelter from a Holz-/Glas-Konstruktion with a copper roof. The modern architecture brings several advantages: the disc tray is always two sides of castle visitors of cost. Since both the glass and the copper plates of the roof are not sealed joints, a natural, the bottom plate schonenedes Air was established. In addition, the structure a possible design of the former castle chapel imitates his shed roof.