Wimmis Castle, Castle in Wimmis, Switzerland

Wimmis Castle is a stone fortress standing on a hillside above the village, built around a central tower with residential spaces and surrounded by double defensive walls. The structure shows modifications made across several centuries of habitation and use.

Wimmis Castle was built around 1100 by the Lords of Strättligen and passed to the Freiherren von Weissenburg from 1268. Bern besieged it nine times between 1286 and 1337, then bought castle and Niedersimmental district in 1439/1449 and made it the seat of a Bernese Landvogt. Major rebuilding followed in 1613 and 1696.

The name Wimmis comes from the castle's position above the village of the same name. Guided tours are offered in the summer months, and the first and second floors now house offices of the cantonal forest department for the Alps, while a privately rented flat occupies the third floor.

Guided castle tours are offered in the summer months; the 1st and 2nd floors hold offices of the cantonal forest department, and the 3rd floor is a private rented flat, so visits are limited to the tour. The castle stands on a hill above Wimmis village in the Niedersimmental.

The castle gardens occupy the site of the former castle town, which burned in 1708 and was then abandoned. The Letzi Spissi, a detached defensive wall built by Rudolf III von Weissenburg, stands about one kilometre south-west of the castle and guarded the entrance to the Niedersimmental.