Alt-Signau Castle

46°54′15″N 7°43′22″E / 46.9043°N 7.7227°E / 46.9043; 7.7227Typehill castleCodeCH-BESite informationConditionRuined wallsSite historyBuiltabout 1130Garrison informationOccupantsFreiherren of Signau

Alt-Signau Castle (German: Ruine Alt-Signau) is a ruined castle in the municipality of Bowil in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

The castle was the ancestral home of the Barons of Signau. The family was first mentioned in 1130 when Werner von Signau appeared in a historical record. The castle was designed to protect and control the road between the Emmental and the Aare river. In the mid-14th century the castle was abandoned when the family moved to Neu-Signau Castle on a hill across the valley.

The ruin is relatively well preserved.

See also

• List of castles in Switzerland

References

• Burgenkarte der Schweiz - West: ISBN 978-3-302-09801-2, Bundesamt für Landestopografie swisstopo, 2007

External links

Media related to Ruine Alt-Signau at Wikimedia Commons

• Anne-Marie Dubler: Bowil in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• History of Signau from signau.ch