Hidden in the valleys of Switzerland, the Neu-Bechburg Castle is said to be haunted by the Robber Knight, Junker Kuoni who was walled up inside a secret chamber in the castle.
High above the town of Oensingen in Switzerland’s canton of Solothurn, the brooding ruins of Neu-Bechburg Castle watch over the valley like a silent sentinel for centuries. It has been the home of knights and Barons, the seat of the Bishop of Basel before falling from grace, becoming a poor house and an inn among other things.
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Oensingen is in the Swiss Plateau at the foot of the Jura Mountains with green forests as far as the eye can see. Yet Neu-Bechburg Castle’s ancient stones carry more than just the weight of history over the Roggen River — they harbor a dark legend that has plagued the castle for centuries: the curse of the robber knight Kuoni.
The Bandit Knight Junker Kuoni of Neu-Bechburg Castle
Neu-Bechburg Castle was built in 1250 by the Lord of Bechburg before changing hands several times. It went to the Counts of Frohburg, Nidau, Thierstein, Kyburg and Buchegg. It used to be the most important place in Switzerland in Roman times. In 1415, the castle and lordship were sold to Bern and Solothurn. In 1463, the castle became the full property of Solothurn and a bailiff’s seat was established.
In the 14th century, Neu-Bechburg was home to Junker Kuoni, an infamous knight-turned-bandit who ruled the surrounding lands through violence and fear. Tales of his cruelty spread swiftly — of caravans ambushed on mountain roads, travelers vanishing into the forests, and innocent villagers stripped of their meager belongings. His crimes grew so terrible that even his fellow nobles could no longer tolerate his presence.
According to legend, Kuoni’s reign of terror ended in a fittingly grim fashion. Betrayed by his own men and captured by the local townsfolk, the robber knight was bricked up alive within the castle walls, left to die slowly in suffocating darkness.
There is also a much more detailed version of the story, telling that the knight was actually taken by the plague. It came to the village and the locals feared for it spreading. Some say they confined him in a small house on the south side of the fortified tower, in what was the tower guard’s house. Some sources said he was fed through a narrow slit, getting more and more sick and he eventually died. And after he died, this slit was also walled up.
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When or where in the castle has various sources telling different things. It is said that it was in the east or south tower and it happened in 1408. Maybe. Did he die because the people around him wanted to put an end to his cruel ways, or was it actually a deadly disease he succumbed to?
Since that day, Neu-Bechburg has never truly been at rest.
The Haunting of Neu-Bechburg Castle
The Neu-Bechburg Castle changed owners several times and, in 1635, it temporarily became the seat of the Bishop of Basel. It fell into ruins when the French invaded and the place lost its place and importance, before being restored again. In 1835 it was acquired by Johannes Riggenbach. His son Friedrich restored the castle from 1880 onwards now owned by the Neu-Bechburg Castle Foundation.
Visitors to the crumbling fortress speak of chilling drafts in sealed rooms, disembodied whispers in the dead of night, and an oppressive presence that clings to certain corridors. Electrical equipment fails and photographs turn black. He also occasionally plays small pranks, locks doors, and otherwise mostly wanders through the castle.
Castle caretaker, Patrick Jakop has said of his own experiences when he heard footstep above him:
“I went up the stairs as fast as I could. I was upstairs for a few seconds, but there was no one there. I searched every cupboard, but there was simply no one,”
During a Brazilian wedding being celebrated at the Bechburg, the water pipe to the well was blocked. A voodoo priestess was among the guests. She told Jacob that an unhappy soul was lurking in the pipe. “I called out to the spirit in the well: If you don’t like it here, then just go away,” the castle warden continues. And lo and behold: “There was a gurgling, a bang, and a sudden rush of water. The pipe was clear again.”
Several mediums and ghost hunters have tried to get to the bottom of it. Even in modern times, technology seems to falter in the castle’s shadow. In 2002, a Swiss television crew set out to film a historical documentary at Neu-Bechburg. When they brought X-ray equipment to scan what was believed to be Kuoni’s burial niche, the machinery inexplicably failed — screens flickered to black, batteries drained without cause, and strange, muffled knocks came from the walls.
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The tale of the robber knight is not the only thing said to haunt the castle and not the only horrible death if we are to believe the rumours. There was a dungeon in the east tower, and the so-called witch’s cage in the west tower. The stories vary from children claiming to have seen a ghost to visitors reporting a weeping woman in the castle fountain.
The Truth of the Robber Knight
What are the facts we’re dealing with when talking about Kuoni? There is no historical evidence of him having existed, and there is no physical evidence that he is in fact walled up inside a wall of the castle. And when we talk about the bubonic plague, we often talk about it hitting Switzerland in 1349 when the plague reached Bern, Zürich, Basel and Saint Gallen.
To this day, locals claim the spirit of Kuoni stalks the ruins, restless and bitter. He’s blamed for sudden gusts that snuff out lanterns, the sharp, metallic scent of blood in the air on misty nights, and eerie, unexplained noises when the castle is supposedly empty. The legend endures — a whispered warning to those who dare trespass in Neu-Bechburg’s shadow.
For in these ancient stones, it seems, Kuoni’s curse lives on.
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References:
Mysteriöses Gemäuer – Das Spukschloss ob Oensingen – Schweiz aktuell – SRF
Kuoni, der Geist von Schloss Neu-Bechburg – 20 Minuten
Schloss Neu-Bechburg in Oensingen SO: Patrick Jakob ist hier Hauswart
