Thorberg Castle (Krauchthal)

The origins of Thorberg date back to 1175, when a castle belonging to the Lords of Thorberg was first documented. Of this original fortification, only a remnant of the tower foundation remains today. With the death of the last knight, Peter von Thorberg, in 1397, the property passed to the Carthusian Order. Monks and lay brothers inhabited the monastery until the Reformation in 1528, after which all monastic property fell to the Canton of Bern. From then on, Thorberg was administered as a bailiwick by a bailiff from the Bernese patriciate and housed various welfare institutions, a prison, and a hospital until 1798.