Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Switzerland / Konolfingen / Schloss Huenigen
Schloss Huenigen
Konolfingen, Switzerland · Independent · Near Luxury
In 1892 César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier bought land from the von May family beside Schloss Hünigen and started the dairy that became Bärenmarke, the condensed milk known as Bear brand. Niklaus von Scharnachtal had raised the château in the mid-16th century from the stones of a burned castle, and the von Mays kept it from 1588 until 1922, long enough for Rudolf von Tavel to write two Bernese novels in his aunt's rooms. Twenty-seven of the 49 rooms are still in the old house, and the other 22 open onto the park.
- 49 rooms
About Schloss Huenigen
- The von Mays sold the château in 1922 to the Protestant association of Canton Bern for 193,000 francs. By 1953 there was running cold water, and 1961 brought 19,546 overnight stays.
- Around 1900 the family helped build the Emmental-Thun-Burgdorf railway, which is why a station went up at nearby Stalden, a short walk from the house.
- Walter Inäbnit and Matthias Spycher bought the four-star seminar hotel back into Bernese hands in 2019. A park of about 40,000 square metres still wraps Freimettigenstrasse.
History
Hans Rudolf von Scharnachtal bought the estate in 1501. After an older castle burned, his grandson Niklaus built the present château in the mid-16th century from the old stones. The von May family held it from 1588 until 1922. Rudolf von Tavel stayed with his aunt and wrote D' Frou Kätheli u ihri Buebe and Dr Stärn vo Buebäbärg here. In 1892 César Ritz, with Auguste Escoffier, bought land from the von Mays and from 1895 made unsweetened condensed milk that became Bärenmarke. The Protestant association of Canton Bern bought the house in 1922 for 193,000 francs. It has run as a hotel since the postwar years, became the four-star Parkhotel Schloss Hünigen in a 1997 and 1998 expansion, reopened in May 2013 under Lark Hill, and returned to Bernese owners Walter Inäbnit and Matthias Spycher in 2019. Forty-nine rooms: 27 in the castle, 22 in the park pavilion.
The setting
Freimettigenstrasse 9, 3510 Konolfingen, in the Emmental beside the Kiesen brook, with a park of about 40,000 square metres and old trees. Stalden station is the nearby stop. Bern and Thun are each about twenty minutes off.
Experiences
- Zeit für zwei — Retreat, indulgence and overnight stay in a cosy setting.
- Schlossbrunch — Every Sunday from 11:30 at the castle.
- Wellness im Schloss — Various treatments with ALPIENNE products.
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