The header picture shows the view from Schynige Platte to Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau
Not much is left of the former monastery in Interlaken,
though once influential and powerful.
The (former) monastery in Interlaken
Interlaken Monastery (inter lacus: between the lakes) was founded around 1130 as an Augustinian canon monastery by Baron Seliger von Oberhofen under the influence of Marbach
Monastery in Alsace.
The first written record of the provostry of Interlaken dates from 1133, when Emperor Lothar III took the monastery under his protection. The monastery was then an imperial
monastery and was able to take possession of imperial property without the prior consent of the respective king, which the monastery made full use of. In 1220 Emperor Frederick
II granted the right to elect the Kastvogt (the 'secular' power on the 'Bödeli') and in 1224 he placed the monastery under the protection of the city of Bern.
The monastery was handed over to the State of Bern in 1528, and with it the estates that the monastery had 'accumulated' over the centuries.
PS: Emperor Lothar III is the father of Princess Gertrud. He himself is buried in Königslutter (Saxony) but where is the grave of his daughter? If you have found Gertrud on my website, please put a digital rose on her tombstone.
Today there is practically nothing left of the monastery. Instead, one finds the Interlaken Castle here.
Only a sad remnant (a wing) of the cloister is left. The floor level doesn't quite fit anymore. The monastery was probably a little lower.
Today some offices and a museum (tin figures) are accommodated in the former monastery complex.
to Merlingen, then ship to Spiez
previous stage
to Merlingen, then around Lake Thun via Thun (signposted route)
