"A walled town since 1238, King Conrad... " a Murten Travel Page by dabidc

Murten or Morat is in the Canton of Fribourg and of the 5,600 residents, 73 % are German speaking, 14% consider French is their mother tongue. Note the general dividing line bewteen German speaking Swiss and French speaking Swiss is a north south line in this general area.

To the east is Zurich, Luzern and Basel, to the west is Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux.

Murten, the German name for the small town is located on a small hill on the south side of Lake Murten, there was settlement or defensive position here from 515 AD. Between 1159 and 1179 a town was founded and for the next 200 years it is fought over by several Dukes and Counts, however between 1238 and 1242 the citizens built the wall or ramparts. Be it here known that the citizens got a tax break for the 4 years that it took to build the wall. Wow taxes in those days.

One thing for sure, they did not have Fire Insurance, when the last great fire wiped out the town in 1416, the citizens bounced back and built the town in stone. Even then the town was not free of attackers from Charles the Bold to the Swiss army to Napoleon, he eventually gave the town to the Canton of Fribourg

My host Jakob left me at the Berne Tower bright and early the first morning of my visit, I understood the Tourist Office was just to the right inside the Berne Tower. I was well received at the office and plied with maps and brochures about the town and the surrounding area.

I did walk up Hauptgasse to take the photo of the Berne Gate from inside the town, showing some of the houses, all with a covered arcade at street level. Many with chairs and tables there to tempt you to partake of a coffee, tea, dessert or even a meal.

So I set off about 9.30 am and headed across Hauptgasse to the start of the wall. I passed the Powder Tower, not open to visitors and if I recall a small shop. Then the large building in front of me was shown as the German Church, with its associated Rectory opposite across the small square. The directions now led me to the side of the Church and yes the climb to the top deck of the ramparts was now essential.

Ah yes the view was exhilerating especially since the low cloud was dissipating, the town had outgrown its walls many years ago and the houses and small businesses were all around the walls. Still not far away were farmlands, some small woods and one could imagine in days gone by the armies of the enemy camped out on those hills, watching and waiting for a chance to attack the defenses and breach those walls and thus take the town for some other Duke, King or Count.

If you get to Gruyere Castle, check out a mural on one of the walls, I believe there you will find a painting of one of these attacks on Murten.

Having climbed to the walkway level, it is an easy travel to the other towers, at this level there are stones to walk on, many openings to look out of, both into the Town and out to the surrounding area, watch out for the enemy or an arrow. Let your imagination take over. Think dead of night and you are on duty, is that strange noise something to worry about, do you report it or say nothing and keep looking around you for the enemy, oh they just scaled the walls. Raise the alarm. Too late!!!!!

The wall walk continues and the small towers give way to a larger one occasionally, the Large Schimmel Tower permits one to return to ground level, but stay at the top and walk a little further, alas the walls do not go all the way round the town.Up ahead is the castle and as we will see later the walls have gone from the Lake side of the town.

Still as you walk the walls pick out the places of interets, the Castle, the Town Hall, The French Church and look across the Lake to Mont Vully, and the vineyards that cover the slope of that hill. Look for boats on the Lake and in the afternoon, a hot air ballon that crosses the sky ahead of you. Notice how close some of those houses are inside the walls.