Spiez Castle, Lake Thun, Switzerland

Spiez, Castle at the Town on Lake Thun

The castle complex here at Spiez is located for maximum views of the lake, mountains and countryside. The castle itself, here (see the church at another post) shows the transition from defense to residence, old tower, later stately mansion. Rooms originate in the 1200's through the 1700's, but the castle itself dates from the 10th-11th Centuries. Fortified colonies here date to 1000 BC.

The name:  More Celtic connections - the name of the town came from the Gaelic word for corn, says this site. See ://www.swissqualityhotels.com/hotels/Switzerland/spiez/about.asp?_lang=en/ *

* Corn? We thought that crop was North or South American?

Spijates and Spiez.  The word is "spijates". Have to look that up.  Just did.  Can't believe all you read. Spijates here is defined as "thorn" and not corn at all.  And it is indeed Celtic, not Gaelic. See http://www.epinions.com/review/trvl-Dest-Europe-Switzerland/trvl-review-7D6D-9EC060-394B064F-prod1/  Isn't Gaelic later than Celtic?  Yes. Celts were all over Europe before being shoved into the British Isles, and finally the remotes of Ireland and Scotland. See their history at ://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/celts.html

For looks at the relationship of Gaels and Celts, see ://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/  There are six languages in the Celtic group. Gaelic is English for a cluster of three of them:  the Irish, the Manx, and the Scots.

Spiez Castle, residence side, Lake of Thun, Switzerland

Spiez Castle, Tower, Lake Thun, Switzerland

The tower is Romanesque with 13th Century Graffiti, we now learn, but did not see.  Is that it above the window, preserved? This site calls it medieval castle with baroque style, but that can't be right.  Centuries separate medieval from baroque. Fine to say originated as medieval, later redecorated in baroque.  See //www.interlaken.ch/erlebnisse/sommer/kultur/schloss-spiez.html?L=3