Thun Things to Do

The castle is the landmark of Thun. Up on the hill in the old town it can look back on a history of more than 800 years.

The oldest parts (the donjon) were built in 1190. The medieval style is perfectly preserved. Inside you find some very interesting exhibits, mostly on Bernese history.

From the four lean towers on the corners of the donjon one can enjoy fantastic views of the city, the lake and the alps.

Take time to admire the towers, then go through the courtyard area for the entrance to the castle museum....don't leave it too late though, it closes at 5 o'clock and 10 minutes (like we had during the vt visit to Thun) is not long enough to see its historical archives!

OK if you're out of breath from climbing those steps,then just pause a while with me and admire the architecture of the houses and their gardens. There's a convenient place about half way up (good excuse to stop for a pic ;-))

Thun is a lovely town at the far end of Lake Thun (Thunersee). It has its own castle whose history can be traced back to the end of the 12th century, when Duke Berchtold V of Zahringen defeated the baroness of Thun, taking over the town and the castle. Schloss Thun is a complex of fortifications crowned by a Romanesque square tower with four corner turrets Inside the castle is the History museum.

The old town of Thun occupies a long narrow island in the River Aare as it flows out of the lake. In the main shopping street you can walk at two different levels - one on the flower-decked roofs of the street-side shops , along the upper levels of the shops. The other is a covered stairway (Kirchtreppe) going up to the castle and Baroque parish church. Take care this place is easy to miss - its hidden between house numbers 55 and 57 in the Obere Hauptgasse. The Rathaus platz is surrounded by arcaded houses and adorned with a flower-decked fountain.

It's an imposing castle high up on the hill behind the old town. it was built by Duke Berchtold V von Zähringen in 1195. It's high and narrow - like a real defensive fortress - and is surrounded by 4 tall towers. Inside you can find a museum of Swiss history and culture. It closes at 5 PM. Outside you can have a glimpse over Thus and the surrounding area, but beware that the suburbs are industrial and not much of a pretty sight.

These falls, there are 10 in fact, are the only glacier falls in Europe that are inside the mountain, but still are open for visitors. It´s totally amazing, how much water is flowing through those narrow gorges. They say it´s up to 20.000 litres a second!!! And you can easily believe that!

hike up to the Glecksteinhütte. Well, you have to have a good condition and good hiking shoes to do this trip. Some experience on mountain trails is useful too. The weather has to be perfect, otherwise forget it, it would be too slippery!!! Don´t forget to take Rebibi and me with you! We want to go there again even if our legs are still feeling very tired after a few days ;)
Enjoy the special feeling of being as close to the mountains and glaciers as it´s possible if you aren´t a mountain climber. The views up and down are just breathtaking I think.