Blarer Castle

Aesch Castle or Blarer Castle (German: Schloss Aesch) is a castle in the Swiss municipality of Aesch in the canton of Basel-Country.

Aesch Castle is about 500 meters (1,600 ft) northwest of the gorge and Angenstein Castle and 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) north-northeast of the ruins of Pfeffingen Castle on the edge of the core of Aesch village.

The castle was built in 1605/06 by the Blarer of Wartensee family. This family was originally from St. Gallen and had become wealthy from the linen trade. One line of the family settled in Wartensee Castle at Rorschach, hence the name of this line. With the election of Jacob Christoph Blarer of Wartensee in 1575 to the canons of the cathedral of Basel the family gained interests in the Basel region. Jacob Christoph Blarer was also one of the main leaders of the Counter-Reformation in Birseck.

The Blarers began to expand their power in the Basel region when Jacob Christoph Blarer appointed his brother Wolfgang Dietrich Blarer to the upper Vogt of Pfeffingen in 1583. This position gave the family a steady source of income from tithes, taxes and interest. Many other privileges, for example a charter granted by Jacob Christoph Blarer in 1604, led to a steady growth of wealth of the Blarer family. In the years before his death in 1608, he tasked his nephew Wilhelm Blarer, to consolidate the family's position and power by building a castle at Aesch. In 1607, the castle grounds and surrounding property were given to Wilhelm by Jacob Christoph. At the same time, Jacob Christoph as the Bishop of Basel freed Wilhelm from all offerings.

By 1702, the Prince-Bishop allowed the Vogt Johann Konrad Blarer to live in the castle at Aesch rather than in Pfeffingen, but his clerk had to stay in Pfeffingen Castle. As the castle at Pfeffingen lacked the comfort and prestige that the family desired for a family seat, in 1740 the Blarers moved their center of power into Aesch.

During the Thirty Years' War the castle was damaged, but was rebuilt immediately. At the time of the French Revolution a hospital was set up in the castle.

Finally, in 1851 the castle was bought from the family by the municipality of Aesch and rebuilt. Two classrooms and two teachers' houses were added. It was renovated in 1900 by Rudolf Sandreuter, who moved the main entrance to the village side and added gothic revival and an additional half-round tower.

Text adapted from “Aesch Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Blarer Castle ranks #6,866 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #183 of the 200 mapped in Switzerland. Founded 1606, it is older than 31% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. 19 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Basel, 11 km away. See how Switzerland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗