Research — Voices of the Forgotten
Voices of the Forgotten – True Crime at Thun Castle
For more than 400 years, Thun’s castle hill was a place of judgment – and its tower a prison. Together with the Burgerarchiv Thun and the State Archives of the Canton of Bern, we bring back from the records the people who were condemned here in the name of Bern: men and women, every kind of crime, often shockingly harsh punishments. This page makes our archival work visible – with research posts, your questions, and a crowdfunding.
The oath-breaker. The maid convicted of theft. Treacherous murderers, «witches» and fortune tellers sentenced to death. In the tower books, with their interrogation protocols and verdicts, and in other legal records of the Burgerarchiv Thun and the State Archives of the Canton of Bern, the condemned of past centuries left their traces. Our team actively works in the archives to reconstruct these individual fates: Who stood before the Schultheissen? What had happened? And what punishment followed?
We receive enquiries about these stories all year round and help wherever we can. We work closely with the Burgerarchiv Thun and the State Archives of the Canton of Bern. What we find, we publish here as research posts – in English and German.
«True crime», to us, means: real cases, carefully researched and told with respect. Behind every entry in the records stands a human being – often one nobody has remembered for centuries.
Latest from the archives
- From tower prison to museum: the last jailer of the castle hillIn 1886 the prison moved from the castle tower to the new regional jail at the castle wall; in 1888 the museum moved in – and the jailer began selling the tickets. The story of a remarkable change of place.
- The tower books and other legal records: voices of the forgotten from the Thun and Bern archivesOath-breakers, maids, murderers, «witches» and fortune tellers: the tower books and other legal records kept in the Thun and Bern archives give the condemned of past centuries their stories back. How we research – and how you can help.
- Four hundred years in the name of Bern: how justice was done on Thun’s castle hillFor more than 400 years, the Schultheissen – governors of the Bernese state – sat in judgment on Thun’s castle hill. From the town court to gallows and pillory to the modern district court: an overview from our archival research.
All posts are also available in German on the German project page.
Was one of your ancestors among them? Ask the archives
Do you suspect an ancestor among the condemned – or among the judges, plaintiffs and witnesses? Does your family carry a name from the region of Thun? Send us your question – we read every message, answer by email, and publish selected findings as research posts.
Crowdfunding
Give the forgotten their voices back
Archival research takes time, expertise and care. With your donation you make it possible to study the tower books and other legal records, to answer the enquiries we receive, and to publish the findings on this page. Thank you warmly!
Please mention «Voices of the Forgotten» 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: climbing the castle tower, you pass the old prison cells, the instruments of torture and the Thun executioner’s sword – part of every museum visit. To go deeper, book the themed tour «Under lock and key – on the trail of justice and the prison» (1 hour, DE/EN/FR, for groups). This project grew out of our 2025 special exhibition «Recht im Wandel – courts and condemned in the history of Thun», created in cooperation with the Burgerarchiv Thun.