Author: Maarten Koning

Neu-Bechburg Castle in the town of Oensingen (canton of Solothurn) is situated on a trade route that was already important in Roman times.

The castle was built in the second half of the thirteenth century by the Lords (Freiherren) of Bechburg. The owners changed many times, including the Counts of Froburg, Nidau and Kyburg.

Bern bought the castle in 1415 and donated it to Solothurn in the same year. Solothurn had supported Bern in 1415 (conquest of Aargau/Argovie), and the castle was one of the rewards.

The Neu-Bechburg foundation has managed and maintained the castle since 1975 (further information: www.neu-bechburg.ch).

Lord Byron 1788-1824) wrote in 1816:

“While Waterloo with Cannae’s carnage vies, Morat and Marathon twin names shall stand;
They were true Glory’s stainless victories,
Won by the unambitious heart and hand
Of a proud, brotherly, and civic band….”.

The Battle of Murten (Morat in French, located in the canton of Fribourg/Freiburg) was one of the decisive battles in European history. It followed the battle of Grandson on 2 March 1476. The Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft) of Swiss cantons defeated the mighty army of Charles the Bold (1433-1477), Duke of Burgundy.

On 22 June 1476, they defeated the Duke again at Murten. The following year, at Nancy (5 January 1477), Duke Charles (1433-1477) lost his third battle and life.

The victories of the Confederacy paved the way for the rise of the Habsburgs. Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482), the heir of Charles the Bold and later wife of Emperor Maximilian I of Austria (1459-1519), inherited the rich Flemish and Dutch regions.

The French king was the other profiteer. His small and ramshackle kingdom had lost its most formidable competitor, and the third kingdom of Burgundy (after 443-534 and 888-1032) was not to be.

The Eidgenossenschaft was the military superpower, but politically a small confederation. Nevertheless, it defeated the Habsburgs in 1499 (Swabian War/Schwabenkrieg).

Political hubris led to the defeat at Marignano in 1515 against the French king, ending their military supremacy. The era of Swiss mercenaries was a period of a mighty army of approximately 1.5 million men until 1848.

The Tour de Diesse in Neuchâtel was built in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries as a defence tower for the Diesse family.

This family lived in the tower until 1580. They were not the owners but held the donjon in fief from the Counts of Neuchâtel (until 1395), the (German) Lords of Hochberg and Freiburg (1395-1504) and the dynasty of (d’Orléans-Longueville). The city acquired the property in 1580. The tower is located at the foot of the castle.

The square is one of the oldest parts of the city. The statue of the Banneret, the commander of the militia and the town’s defence, dates from the 17th century. One can find this figure in many Swiss cities.

Lavaux is a region in the canton of Vaud and has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007.

The region encompasses villages and towns and their medieval (Romanesque and Gothic) churches, squares, houses, castles, manoirs, towers, (open air) museums, vineyards and panoramic views of Lake Geneva and the Alps, amongst others, Pully, Lutry, Villette, Grandvaux, Cully, the tower of Gourze (Tour de Gourze), Riex, Espesses, Rivaz, Chexbres, Saint-Saphorin, Mount Pèlerin (Mont-Pèlerin), Chardonne, Marsens, Jongny, Corseaux, Corsier-sur-Vevey and Vevey.

The region is called Lavaux, not the Lavaux (Le Lavaux). Le Lavaux is the wine. Lavaux is derived from La Vallée (La Vaux). So: I visit Lavaux (je visite Lavaux), but I drink du Lavaux (je bois du Lavaux).

(Source: www.region-du-leman.ch).