Research — Anabaptist archives
Schloss Thun and its Archival Studies – Your Way to Anabaptist History
Our team actively researches the Anabaptist history of Thun, the Emmental and the Simmental in the regional archives – and we regularly help families from the USA and Canada trace their roots. Here we share what we find. Read along, ask us your questions, and help keep the research going.
Every year, we receive many enquiries from descendants of the Bernese Anabaptists – families carrying names like Brenneman, Eshleman, Stoner, Shenk, Eymann or Yoder (Joder). And every year, our team goes into the archives: the records of the Bernese administration whose governors resided in this castle, court documents, parish registers and the building history of the tower prison itself. Wherever we can, we help – and what we find, we share here.
This page is our open research notebook. New findings appear as posts below; your questions guide where we look next; and your support keeps this work possible.
Latest from the archives
- Walking with a descendant: on the Reusser and Brenneman trail around ThunIn June 2026, Elsbeth Aebersold of the Thun Castle museum team spent half a day with a descendant of the Reusser and Brenneman families – retracing the story of two of the region’s best-known Anabaptist families, where it happened.
- From Steffisburg to the New World: Joder (Yoder), Reusser, BrennemannYoder, Reusser and Brenneman are among the great Anabaptist family names of North America – and their trails meet in Steffisburg and the hills around Thun. Notes from our archival research.
- The tower under the roof: tracing the Anabaptist prison of Thun CastleHigh under the roof of the medieval keep lies the old prison of Thun Castle – the place where Anabaptist men and women were held under the Bernese governors. What do the records tell us? A look into our ongoing archival research.
Further reading & events
Selected literature
- Ernst Müller: Geschichte der Bernischen TäuferFrauenfeld 1895 – the classic account of the Bernese Anabaptists · digitised on e-rara (PDF)
- Delbert L. Gratz: Bernese Anabaptists and Their American DescendantsGoshen 1953 – the standard work for tracing Bernese families to North America
- Steven M. Nolt: A History of the AmishJohns Hopkins UP, 3rd ed. – the accessible standard history, from Jakob Ammann to today
- Mennonitica HelveticaYearbook of the Swiss Association for Anabaptist History – mennonitica.ch
- GAMEO: Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineArticles on places and family names – gameo.org
- Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association: Bernese Anabaptist History – A Chronological OutlinePDF on swissmennonite.org
Conferences & events
- Fachtagung Täuferbewegung – 500 Jahre ProphezeyUniversity of Zurich – scholarly conference marking 500 years of the Anabaptist movement (in German)
- Verfolgt, vertrieben, vergessen – 500 Jahre TäufertumExhibition at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich on 500 years of Anabaptism in the canton of Zurich
- «Täufer willkommen!»Anniversary project connecting Anabaptist places of memory in the region – Trachselwald, Sumiswald, Trub
- Anabaptism@500Mennonite World Conference – worldwide anniversary events and heritage tours
A reading tip of your own? We gladly take suggestions via the question form below.
Ask the archives
Are you researching an ancestor from the region of Thun, the Emmental or the Simmental? Send us your question – we read every message, answer by email, and publish selected findings as research posts.
Crowdfunding
Support the archival research
Archival research takes time, expertise and care. With your donation you directly support our work on the Anabaptist history of the region – the study of the tower prison records, the answers we give to families overseas, and the publication of our findings on this page. Every contribution helps, and we thank you warmly.
Please mention «Anabaptist archives» in the message field of your donation so we can attribute it to this project.
Visit the places yourself
The best way to experience this history is to stand where it happened: on our guided tour «From the Castle Tower to the New World» you visit the tower prison and hear the stories behind the family names.