Rüeggisberg

Rüeggisberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The oldest trace of a settlement is the Roman road that likely passed through Rüeggisberg between Aventicum / Payerne and the Thun lake area. During the Middle Ages there were three fortifications in the area, Büffelhölzli, Ramsburg and Schlosschäle castles or forts. However no records remain of any of the three and only limited artifacts have been found. Rüeggisberg Priory was founded between 1072 and 1076 by Lütold of Rümligen. He granted the property and estates to Cluny Abbey making it the first Cluniac house in the German-speaking world. Under Cuno of Siegburg and Ulrich of Zell the first cells were built. Construction of the Romanesque church lasted from about 1100 to about 1185, of which there still remain the north transept and parts of the crossing tower. The Priory gradually lost power and in 1484 it was incorporated into the newly built college of the Augustinian Canons of Bern Minster. By 1532, when much of the town was destroyed in a fire, the Priory was abandoned. The church was shut down in 1541 during the Reformation and was partly demolished for building material.

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