Schloss Thorberg
Encyclopedia
Thorberg Castle is a former Carthusian
monastery, or charterhouse, now a prison, located in Krauchthal
, canton of Bern, Switzerland
.
At the Reformation
in 1528 all the assets and property of the monastery passed to the state of Berne. The income from the Vogtei
Thorberg was administered by a Vogt from the Berne patriciate. Until 1798 various care organisations, a prison and a hospital were accommodated in the monastery buildings.
In 1805 the former almshouse
, which had provided shelter for the aged poor, was put to use as a reformatory, model school and "ancillary lunatic asylum". To these were added in 1807 a further institution for the accommodation of those who "had not really merited imprisonment". The care organisations were replaced on 1 November 1849 by a workhouse or forced labour unit. After the opening of the psychiatric clinic at Waldau near Berne, the "ancillary asylum" could be closed, in 1855. In 1893 a newly built cell block was opened as a prison; various other extensions were added during the 20th century, most recently in 1998.
. A figure of the "Man of Sorrows
" by the sculptor Erhart Küng, master of works at the Berner Münster, formerly belonging to the charterhouse, is today kept in the Historisches Museum Bern
.
castle is from the time of the Landvogt.
The old sandstone
quarry nearby can still be seen, particularly the traces of hand-working and handtools.
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery, or charterhouse, now a prison, located in Krauchthal
Krauchthal
Krauchthal is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-History:Krauchthal was first mentioned around 1108-22 as Crouchtal and around 1181-82 as Crochtal.-Geography:...
, canton of Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
History
Of the castle of the von Thorberg family, first documented in 1175, there remain only fragments of the foundations of the tower. The family died out with Peter von Thorberg, the last knight, who bequeathed his many estates to the Carthusians in 1397.At the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in 1528 all the assets and property of the monastery passed to the state of Berne. The income from the Vogtei
Vogtei
Vogtei could be:* The residenz or domain of a Vogt* Vogtei , a municipal association in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany....
Thorberg was administered by a Vogt from the Berne patriciate. Until 1798 various care organisations, a prison and a hospital were accommodated in the monastery buildings.
In 1805 the former almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
, which had provided shelter for the aged poor, was put to use as a reformatory, model school and "ancillary lunatic asylum". To these were added in 1807 a further institution for the accommodation of those who "had not really merited imprisonment". The care organisations were replaced on 1 November 1849 by a workhouse or forced labour unit. After the opening of the psychiatric clinic at Waldau near Berne, the "ancillary asylum" could be closed, in 1855. In 1893 a newly built cell block was opened as a prison; various other extensions were added during the 20th century, most recently in 1998.
Remains of the monastery buildings
From the Carthusian monastery there remain the women's guesthouse and the chapel, dating from 1510-15, the frescoes of which show the Adoration of Jesus by the magi and the shepherdsAdoration of the shepherds
The Adoration of the shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It is often combined with the Adoration of the Magi, in which case it is typically just referred to by the latter title...
. A figure of the "Man of Sorrows
Man of Sorrows
Among the passages in the Hebrew Bible that have been identified by Christians as prefigurations of the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows of Isaiah 53 is paramount - the various theological traditions are discussed at that article...
" by the sculptor Erhart Küng, master of works at the Berner Münster, formerly belonging to the charterhouse, is today kept in the Historisches Museum Bern
Historical Museum of Bern
The Historical Museum of Bern is the second largest historical museum in Switzerland. It was built in 1894 by the Neuchâtel architect André Lambert...
.
Other
The construction of the BaroqueBaroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
castle is from the time of the Landvogt.
The old sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarry nearby can still be seen, particularly the traces of hand-working and handtools.