Heretics – rebels – (pseudo-)saints
Bern's confrontation with its own subjects
Trachselwald Castle is a symbol of the expansion and enforcement of Bernese rule in the Emmental - even against the resistance of the subjects if necessary.
Picture: Fritz von Gunten.
The central expression of this resistance were the Peasants' War of 1653 and Anabaptism, which was strongly represented in the Trachselwald bailiwick. Trachselwald Castle was the center of Bernese repression against any form of disobedience and non-conformity.
Bern was probably the only authority in Europe that had established its own ministry, the "Täuferkammer" (Anabaptist Chamber), 1659-1743, with the sole task of fighting Anabaptism and making Bern "Anabaptist-free".
Many local Anabaptists spent days, weeks and months in the prison cells in the keep. There they sat until their resistance was broken or until they were transferred to Bern for further measures - unless: they managed to escape.
Most of them shared a difficult fate: some of those imprisoned here died during their imprisonment in the castle, others emigrated, fled abroad or were deported, some were even sent to galleys. Most of them had previously been deprived of almost everything they had with heavy fines and confiscation of goods.
This part of the corridor will mention Anabaptists from the Bailiwick of Trachselwald who paid a high price for the sake of their convictions during the decades of most intense repression (ca. 1650 - 1730):
• Who were they?
• Where did they live?
• What became of them?
The maps and charts in the back part of the corridor show:
• They lived in houses, on farms and hamlets that still exist today.
• They carried family names that are still common in the Emmental and beyond.
• Their descendants live today widely scattered (almost) all over the world!
In the rearmost part of the corridor follows an overview of the meeting places of Emmental Anabaptists in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as some individual portraits of today's members of Anabaptist congregations.