Monastery and Interlaken Castle

The Augustinian monastery in Interlaken sits marked by the heavy, whitewashed stone walls of the castle complex that replaced it. Founded in the twelfth century, the monastery once controlled the trade routes between the lakes of Brienz and Thun, exerting immense influence over the alpine passes. When the Bernese authorities dissolved the monastery in fifteen twenty-eight, they turned the monks' private quarters into a residence for their regional governors. The stone cellar remains from the original twelfth-century foundation, surviving centuries of transition.