Worb

Worb is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Worb is first mentioned around 1130-46 as Worw. The oldest traces of settlements in the area include scattered neolithic artifacts, Hallstatt grave mounds in the Buchliwald and a La Tene cemetery at Rohrmoos-Stockeren. Other prehistoric graves have been found in the Gschneitwald. A Roman estate from the 2nd and 3rd centuries and a Roman grave have also been discovered. During the Early Middle Ages there was a small settlement that had a cemetery at Vielbringen. The Freiherr de Worvo was first mentioned in 1127, a couple of years before the village appeared in the record. By the second half of the 13th century the Freiherr von Kien had inherited village, lands and Worb Castle. The family ruled over the Worb Herrschaft until 1336 when they became citizens of Bern and the territory came under Bernese authority. Over the following centuries several Bernese noble families ruled over the land and divided and recombined the Herrschaft. The lord over the village and Herrschaft held the Zwing und Bann and low court rights. The high court was in Konolfingen. In 1469 a fight broke out between the Bernese appointed court representative and the bailiff of Worb. It took two years for the rights and jurisdiction of both positions to be settled. The core of Worb Castle was built before 1130. Initially it had a keep, great hall and a knight's house. In 1469 and again in 1594 it was renovated and repaired. In 1643 a new residential wing was added to the castle. A new ornate manor house was built near the old castle in 1734 by the son of Christoph von Graffenried, Franz Ludwig von Graffenried. This new estate was known as Neuworb but was also called the Neuschloss or New Castle. The two estates were acquired by the Goumoëns-Sinner family in 1846. In 1964 the Seelhofer family bought the old castle while the New Castle was bought in 1985 by the von Graffenried family. Another country estate was built in 1730 in the village of Richigen for the Stettler family.