Museum
CastleBalsthal
Alt-Falkenstein Castle (Balsthal)
Alt-Falkenstein Castle is a castle at the entrance to a gorge near Balsthal in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland.
The Bishop of Basel, Burkhard von Fenis, had been gifted lands by Emperor Henry IV for his loyalty during the Investiture Controversy. These included the Landgraviate of Buchsgau. To protect the borders of his new territory, he had a castle built on a rock in the Jura transverse valley ("Klus") towards Balsthal, which was inhabited by his vassals, the Counts of Falkenstein. Rudolf I von Falkenstein (mentioned from 1224 to 1251) is considered the builder, with the construction period around 1250. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1255.
After various changes of ownership, the castle was sold by the impoverished landed gentry to the city of Solothurn at the beginning of the 15th century. The patricians there expanded the castle and used it as a seat for their bailiwicks in the following centuries.
Today, the complex houses a local history museum.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 47.3070, 7.6909