00:00Spies Castle, German. Schloss Spies, is a castle in the municipality of Spies in the
00:15Swiss canton of Bern. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. According to
00:21Elegius Kibberger, the author of the Stratlager Chronicle, in 933 the king of Burgundy, Rudolf
00:27II, built the castle. Shortly thereafter, the Freiherr von Stratlagen settled in the
00:33castle. Portions of the current castle curtain walls and main tower were built during the
00:3712th century and by the 13th century, the town of Spies existed outside the castle walls.
00:43By 1280 the castle was listed as an imperial fief under Vote Richard de Corbiers. In 1289
00:50the Freiherr von Stratlagen was co-owner of the castle along with a succession of other
00:54noble families. In 1308 King Albert I of Habsburg was murdered at Windisch on the Reuss,
01:01by his nephew Duke John Parasita. As part of their retaliation for the murder, the Habsburgs
01:07withdrew half of the Spies fief from Turing von Brandes and granted the whole fief to
01:11Johannes von Stratlagen. Thirty years later, in 1338, Johannes sold the castle, town, church,
01:19and surrounding villages to Johann II von Bubenberg who was the Schultheis of Bern.
01:24By 1340, the Bubenberg-appointed Vote took orders from Bern but was obligated to raise
01:29troops for the Habsburgs. As Bern was de facto independent from their former overlords, the
01:36Habsburgs, this created an unstable situation that remained for over 40 years.
01:41After the Bernese and Swiss Confederation victory over the Habsburgs in the Battle of
01:45Sempach in 1386, the Habsburgs gave up their land claims west of the Arée, which included
01:51Spies. The castle and surrounding land remained with the Bubenberg family until their extinction
01:56in 1506 when it was acquired by Ludwig von Diesbach. Von Diesbach held it for ten years
02:02before Ludwig von Erlach acquired the castle and lands. The von Erlach family ruled the
02:07town and villages until the 1798 French invasion. After the invasion and the creation of the
02:13Helvetic Republic, the von Erlach family lost their land rights and jurisdiction over
02:18the village but retained ownership of the castle until 1875.
02:23The old castle was expanded in several stages during the late Middle Ages but little is
02:27known about the specific dates or what was changed. In 1600 the Great Hall and the northern
02:33buildings were expanded and renovated. During the 17th and 18th centuries the south, new
02:39castle, was built and then expanded and redecorated in the late Baroque style. The castle was
02:44surrounded by gardens, vineyards, and forests. After 1875, the castle passed through several
02:50owners until a foundation bought the castle and associated church. The gardens are now
02:55open to the public and the castle rooms are used for conferences, concerts, exhibitions,
03:01and other events. Spies Castle and the neighboring castle church
03:05The massive square keep was built around 1200. The lower walls are about 3 meters thick
03:10though they become thinner higher up. At the bottom, it is 11.3 meters times 11.2 meters.
03:17The tower increased in height several times over the following centuries before the final
03:22construction phase in 1600. In this final phase, the tower was raised and crowned with
03:28a hipped roof that brought its total height to 39 meters. The keep was originally surrounded
03:33by several freestanding wooden buildings. Over the following centuries, these buildings
03:38were replaced with a stone curtain wall and a ring of two concentric ditches. A gatehouse
03:43was built adjacent to the keep, which opened toward the west. From the 15th to the 18th
03:49century, the castle was gradually renovated to its present appearance. The truel was added
03:54to the northwest side of the keep in the 16th century. Then, in the 17th and 18th centuries,
04:00the baroque, new castle, was built on the south side of the gatehouse.
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