Schloss Zumbrunnen is long gone now, and its site is uncertain, but there are two leading possibilities for where it might have stood.

Option 1: On a Hill in Brunnen, Switzerland

A number of books about the town of Brunnen, Switzerland, say that the Castle Zumbrunnen once stood upon a small hill close to the shore of Lake Lucerne. The town of Brunnen is also identified in Hans Jacob Leu’s 1750 Swiss lexicon. The site is not hard to find today, and is circled in the aerial photo below. For many years, the site was the location of a hotel called the Park-Hotel Hellerbad (you can find many historic postcards of the hotel online). Today, the site is the the location of the Aeskulap Seeklinik, an upscale lake-side clinic where people go to relax for treatment of stress-related illnesses such as burnout, depression and sleep disorders.

Aerial photo of the village of Brunnen, Switzerland. Some sources say that the Castle Zumbrunnen was located atop the small hill circled in red, where a tuft of trees is growing.
via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-2.0

Here’s the location on Google Maps:

A journal article from 1906 on the morphology of Brunnen said of this hill:

According to tradition, a castle was said to have stood here, the castle and courtyard of the noble Zumbrunnen family, which in 1209 was held by the family of Attinghausen through inheritance. [The historian] W. Oechsli mentions the site in 1891 in his book “The Beginnings of Switzerland” but gives no corresponding evidence. In a discussion of the Zumbrunnen family from Liebenau, the hill in Brunnen as a castle site is not mentioned. If such had existed, it should be expected on the dominant hill of the time. On the southern entrance of the Park-Hotel, on Gersauer Street, for quite a distance behind the houses there is large rubble, which could have been taken from the castle hill. According to the present owner of the castle hill …more than 1000 cubic meters of rock have been demolished in three periods.

So it seems that, if indeed a castle once stood here, many of its stones have been carried away, used in the construction of other buildings and retaining walls and the like.

An old drawing of this spot from the year 1833, before the hotel was built and before the big shorefront buildings were constructed, shows that the hill was once quite a bit more pronounced. Even at the time of this drawing, the Castle Zumbrunnen that once stood at this location had likely been abandoned for hundreds of years, perhaps 500 or even 600.

The hill on the right, with a large house and barn, is associated with the site of the Castle Zumbrunnen.
via the Swiss National Library

The stone rubble upon a hill is good and logical evidence that a castle once stood here, but it’s not certain that this was the same castle as Castle Zumbrunnen. For one thing, if the family possessed a mighty castle here, why were all their feudal lands and other early historical evidence place the family in the Canton of Uri?

Uri and Brunnen are not far from each other. The castle was originally passed to Walter Zumbrunnen, but Walter’s son Burkhard became a leader in Uri. This is just speculation, but perhaps Burkhard moved to Uri to work with his uncle Werner II, Baron of Attinghausen, and this is how Burkhard became a leader of the people of Uri. Perhaps at some point, they sold the Zumbrunnen Castle to acquire more lands in Uri.

Brunnen (bottom left circle) and Uri (top right circle) are not far from each other, and can be reached via a quick sailing trip on Lake Lucerne, or via a roughly 9 mile trail along the edge of the mountains.

Option 2: Near a Fountain in Uri

While it’s fun to imagine a mighty castle upon a hill in Brunnen, the other possibility is that the “Schloss Zumbrunnen” was a more modest stone house near one of the fountains in Uri. (This location was cited in an 1830 book on Swiss castles.) The name “Zumbrunnen” is somewhat more suggestive of this possibility. “Zum” means “to the” and “Brunnen,” in addition to being the name of a village, also means “fountain” or “town well.” If the name referred “to Brunnen” the town, then in German it would typically be rendered “Zu Brunnen” rather than “Zum Brunnen.”

We also know the Zumbrunnen family in Uri associated their name with fountains. They used a picture of a fountain on their coat of arms. When they were in Italian speaking regions, they even sometimes translated their name to Fontana, the Italian word for fountain. (This is not definitive proof, however, as many Swiss liked wordplay and puns.)

There are a number of ancient fountains in the town of Altdorf, Uri. These would have been logical sites for a stone house too, and make sense as a division of inheritance, as they are across the river from the Attinghausen Castle. Here’s an old fountain near the hospital in Altdorf, Uri. A number of the Zumbrunnen were later involved with the hospital in Uri.

A fountain outside the hospital in Altdorf, Uri.
Roland Zumbuehl via via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

The most likely candidate, however, is the old fountain in the main town square of Altdorf. A famous status of William Tell was built next to the fountain. This fountain has since been moved, but you can see it in this old postcard. It closely resembles the fountain that the Zumbrunnen family later used in their coat of arms.

The fountain in the town square of Altdorf, next to a monument to William Tell.

If the Zumbrunnen Castle was, in fact, a more modest stone residence in Altdorf, it would explain why the earliest historical records of the family all point to Altdorf. One site in particular is a possibility: there is a road called Zumbrunnenweg, only about 1,200 feet from the town square, that could have been the location of this stone residence.

This is likely not the last word on the Castle Zumbrunnen. Future research may be able to shed some light on these two locations. If the castle was located in Brunnen then what became of it? Why did it leave the family and when was it ruined? Did some members of the Zumbrunnen family stay in Brunnen? If not for a historic Zumbrunnen residence, then why is the street in Altdorf, not far from the fountain, known as Zumbrunnenweg?

Sources

In the Middle Ages, when a wealthy person died they (or their family) would often make a donation of property or wealth to the Catholic Church. The churches, in return, would record the names of these beneficiaries in large beautiful books, where each donor was assigned a day of the year. These books, which were zealously protected by their churches over the centuries, were known as Jahrzeitbuch (in German) and liber anniversarum or martyrologium (in Latin). In English, they are often called Necrologies or simply Yearbooks.

In exchange for these large donations, the priests of the church would consult the Necrology throughout the year and pray for the benefactors on their designated date. It is in part through this practice of donating land in exchange for a place in the necrology that the Catholic Church came to own the rights to huge swaths of land across the Holy Roman Empire. Below is a scan of one of the pages from the Necrology for the Monastery of the Order of St. Lazarus, to show what they looked like.

Sadly, no Zumbrunnen are on the page I’ve found an image of! A full facsimile of this beautiful book is available at some European libraries. It’s quite difficult to make sense of, isn’t vigilant about spelling, was clearly added to over time, and is written in a sort of German-Latin pidgin (for example, the Zumbrunnen sometimes have their names as “Zum Brunnen” or “Zem Brunnen” or “Ze Dem Brunnen” or even translated literally into Latin as Ad Fontem meaning “to the fountain”). One name you can clearly make out in fairly large letters, on the seventh line from the bottom, is “Frat. Egloff de Atighuse”

The purpose of these books was Ecclesiastical, not Genealogical, and so they generally don’t record all the information we wish they would. For one thing, they don’t even record the year that a person died — the purpose of the book was only to pray for their immortal soul every year in the future on that date. So, to take the first example below, on January 31 of each year, the priest might say to his congregation: “Today we pray for Mechtilda Zum Brunnen and Berchta von Attinghausen. Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.”

The books are still fascinating for genealogists. They are often the oldest original surviving documents from ancient ancestors. At least two yearbooks, with entries from the 1100s to the 1300s, survive for our family — yearbooks for the Monastery of the Order of St. Lazarus and the ancient church of St. Andreas in Attinghausen.

The books have been transcribed by historians who don’t provide information on what most of the notations mean. The lists below draw on the transcriptions. (My own commentary, provided for context, is in parentheses and highlights like this) Below are all the entries for our ancestors; there are more entries than this but the Zumbrunnen and Attinghausen do make up a fairly large share.

The Necrology of the Monastery of St. Lazarus in Seedorf

January 31 – Mechtilda ad Fontem (Zum Brunnen)
January 31 – Berchta de Attingenhusen
March 2. – Ob. Conradus de Attigenhusen
March 29 – Frat. Eglof de Attigenhusen (I think this is the entry you can easily read in the above image)
April 13 – Fr. Diethelm de Schneberg ob
April 15 – Heinrich zem Brunnen
April 17 – Elizabeta de Attingenhusen
April 20 – Berta de Atigenhusen ob
April 23 – Ob Egolfus de Atingenhusen dictus de Sweinsperc
April 23 – Magister Burchardus (I believe this is Landammann Burkhard Zumbrunnen who was the chief magistrate (magister) of Uri.)
April 28 – Dominus Heinricus Nobilis de Atingenhusen ob (This is one piece of proof that their were local lords of Attinghausen before Werner.)
April 29 – Buckard de Geschonde (I believe this is pidgin German-Latin for Burkhard “Schüpfer”); Conradus Zum Brunnen de Lewenstein. (This seems to be the oldest example of a ZumBrunnen also using Von Löwenstein as their name.)
May 18 – Heinrich Zum Brunnen (Because Heinrich Zumbrunnen was a war hero, it’s not surprising multiple donations were made in his honor; this also explains why his name would have remained so familiar in the family throughout their time in Switzerland.)
May 26 – Domina Bercta de Atitigenhusen (It’s likely there were multiple Berctas, but this one is clearly identified as the Lady (Domina) of Attinghausen.)
July 15 – Bercta de Attenhusen.
August 27 – Soror Otilia de Atingenhusen ob.
September 2 – Dominus Uolricus nobilis de Swenzperch ob
October 16 – Fr. Cuonradus pater eglolfi de Attingenhusen ob
November 8 – Johannes filius Egelolf de Atingenhusen

This is likely the older of the two yearbooks, possibly dating to the church’s founding in the early 1100s. I don’t know if a facsimile of it is readily available somewhere.

The Necrology of the St. Andreas Church in Attinghausen

January 5 – Voli von Schweinsberg
January 15 – Cuonrads des sigriften von Attighusen
January 18 – Walther Zem Brunnen was hie Landammann, und Ita fin Huffrow et omnium puerorum
February 20 – Cuonrad ze dem brunnen (This could be Conrad Zumbrunnen the knight, or Conrad the Abbot.)
Cuonrad ze dem brunnen
March 1 – Her Diethelms von Attighusen
March 23 – Frow Hemmon Her Wernhers ana von Attighusen (Another entry for a Werner Von Attinghausen and his ancestor (or perhaps grandmother) who was named Hemmon or Hemma.)
April 23 – Her Eglofs von Schweinsberg
April 27 – Her Heinricus von Attighusen
May 9 – Dorade Beroldinger, was ammen zum brunnen feligen Huffrow (One interpretation of this note might be that Dorothea Beroldinger was the second wife of Walter Zumbrunnen. But I think the Ammann Zumbrunnen may well refer to Landammann Burkhard Zumbrunnen, who was so closely identified with his office.)
June 7 – Her Vuolrichs von Attighusen, was der Herren vatter
July 15 – Frow Berchton von Attighusen
August 13 – Her Wernhers von Attighusen, unnd Landamman ze Vre (as all four men named Werner Von Attinghausen are all thought to have been Landammann, it’s hard to know which one this is meant to refer to)
August 15. Herrn Rudolfs von Attighusen
September 3 – Rudolf ze dem Brunnen. (I do not know where Rudolf Zumbrunnen fits in the family tree.) Herrn Uolrichs der Herren Bruder von Attighusen
September 21 – Her Uolrich von Attighusen
October 3 – Agnesen von Wallis, Eglofs von Attighusen wirtin.
October 31 -Her Wenhers von Attinghusen Ritter (it’s hard to know which Werner this refers to, but as this is an old styling of his title, it suggests it could be the first Werner.)
November 7 Johanns Her Eglofs sun von Attighusen
November 11. Her Albrechts von Attighusen
November 14. Frow Elsbeth von Kempten, was her Diethelmds frow von Attighusen.
November 17. Frow Betchen von Attighusen, Her Eglofs tochter. (This note seems to suggest that this Bertha Von Attinghausen was the daughter of Egloff and likely named after her ancestor, the Lady Bertha. That she is identified as a Frow and not a Domina (lady) further suggests the distinction.)
November 26. Herr Lamprechts eins ritters von Attighusen

The market place of Altdorf features this famous sculpture of William Tell.
H. Grob via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

The Zumbrunnen family originates from the Swiss towns of Attinghausen and Altdorf, in the Canton of Uri, and if you’d ever heard of these towns before it’s very likely because of William Tell, whose famous story takes place in Altdorf.

The Story

The most famous version of the story is a play by Friedrich von Schiller, written in 1804. A summary follows (with spoilers):

In the year 1307, the Austrian tyrants, the Hapsburgs, were seeking to conquer Uri because it lay along an important trade route known as the Gotthard Pass. The Hapsburgs appointed a cruel and brutal man named Hermann Gessler to be their reeve and subjugate the unruly mountain men.

With the promise of sharing the Habsburg wealth, Gessler wins the support of Ulrich von Rudenz, an heir to the Attinghausen Castle that controls the region. Gessler becomes increasingly vicious, erecting a large prison in Altdorf to imprison the increasingly rebellious peasantry. Gessler even savagely blinds an old man who does not reveal the location of his own son, who is among the rebels.

But Ulrich is not the leading noble yet. His uncle Werner, the Baron of Attinghausen, though frail and over 80-years-old, is uncooperative with Gessler. He is a friend of the peasants, and enemy of the Habsburg tyrants, but is too weak to command a force against Gessler. He tries to persuade his nephew and heir Ulrich to support the rebellion.

Walter Fürst is a farmer and peasant leader of the rebels. His daughter Hedwig is married to William Tell, the most renowned crossbowman in all the land whom Fürst hopes to recruit to the cause. En route to meet with his father-in-law, Tell and his son pass the new prison of Gessler and refuse to salute.

As punishment, Gessler orders William Tell to demonstrate his skill with a crossbow by shooting an apple off his own son’s head from one hundred yards away. The town is horrified by the cruelty of this punishment, but Tell successfully hits the apple from 100 yards. Gessler orders Tell sent to prison, but Tell escapes.

Ulrich realizes from this cruelty that Werner of Attinghausen was right all along, and decides to join with the peasant Walter Fürst to support the cause of the people. Before dying Werner foresees the end of the nobles and the rise of the people, and outlines a strategy to Fürst about how to defeat Gessler and predicts that “freedom will wave her conquering banner high.”

Now united, Ulrich, Fürst and Tell launch a plan to free Uri. From a remote distance Tell again demonstrates his marksmanship shooting Gessler through the heart, and leaderless, the Habsburg forces are crushed.

Ulrich joins the peasants, treating them as comrades, and joins in a chant “Long live brave Tell.” The play concludes with Ulrich, recognizing Werner’s wisdom and seeing the dignity of all men, setting free all his serfs.

Fact or Legend?

The museum of William Tell in Uri, Switzerland
Roland Zumbuehl via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

The earliest versions of the story date to the 1400s, a full century later (although many old records from the 1300s were destroyed in a fire in Altdorf). Historians are not even 100% sure that Tell existed, and the story about the apple is nearly identical to an older folk legend from Denmark.

Although no records survive for Tell, records survive for at least 7 different members of our family living near Altdorf at the time: Burkhard Zumbrunnen, Conrad Zumbrunnen, Heinrich Zumbrunnen, Johan Zumbrunnen, Mechtilda Zumbrunnen and Walter Zumbrunnen who all lived in the late 1200s or early 1300s. They would have been his contemporaries.

Real Ties to the Zumbrunnen

While there is scholarly debate over whether Tell existed, many aspects of the story are indisputably true, and have proven connections to the Zumbrunnen.

The play is much more fun to read knowing that one’s ancestors lived through the events surrounding it!

William Tell painting, possibly by Paul Bril

Sources

But who were the ancient Attinghausens? There are some undisputed facts, and then two basic theories about their origin. It’s unlikely the answer can ever be fully known, with just too much lost in the mists (and fires) of time.

The seal of Werner Von Attinghausen dated to a letter from October 19, 1264. Clockwise from bottom are the letters “DE — TTINGENHVSEN” (the full seal said Wernheri De Attingenhvsen).
Original seal is in the Canton Aargau state archives.

Beginning in the mid-1200s, the family is very well-documented. One example is the seal at right, attached to a letter that Werner Von Attinghausen sent in October 19, 1264. (There were several generations of men in the family named Werner, so it’s not always clear which is which.)

By the mid-1200s, and possibly earlier, the Von Attinghausen family was also known as Von Schweinsberg and controlled several castles near Bern that are now completely ruined. (Their landholdings in Bern were specifically in a valley called Emmental, which is now famous for its cheese.) The name Von Schweinsberg seems to have originated in Bavaria, Germany.

A seal of Werner Von Attinghausen from November 19, 1303. Clockwise from the top it says “S. WERNHERI DE SWEINSBERG”
Original seal is in the Canton Aargau state archives.

When they conducted business in the Emmental Valley near Bern they used the name Von Schweinsberg. When they conducted business in Uri, they used the name Von Attinghausen. At right, is a seal of Werner’s from 1303 using the “Von Schweinsberg” name.

Around the late 1200s, the estates were divided, likely as part of an inheritance between two brothers, Werner and Diethelm. Werner remained in Uri and began to exclusively use the name Von Attinghausen. Diethelm resided near Bern and began to exclusively use the name Von Schweinsberg.

The Von Attinghausen branch of the family became pivotal figures in the creation of an independent Switzerland. The male line of both branches died off over the next century or so.

Of the above facts, there is no dispute. The question is: where did this family come from originally and how did they acquire two baronies that were so far apart from each other?

Theory 1: Colonizing Nobles
Aside from the Holy Roman Emperor himself, the most powerful noble family in Switzerland in the 1100s and 1200s were the Dukes of Zähringen, who controlled lands in Bavaria and across Switzerland, including near the city of Bern (a city the Dukes of Zähringen founded).

The coats of arms of the Zähringen and Attinghausen family have some similarities: an eagle with his wings extended and tongue out, although this was a common motif in the Holy Roman Empire.
Public domain image via chgh.ch

Thus one hypothesis is that the original Barons of Attinghausen were loyal knights of the Zähringen who were given the newly created barony of Attinghausen, possibly as an award for valorous military service (often the basis for awarding new baronies) and also because they could be trusted to act on the behalf of their sponsors.

One family in particular has been identified: a family named Von Signau who lived near Bern. Several facts support this theory:

1. The family traces back to a Werner Von Signau who is mentioned in records in 1130 and 1146. Though merely circumstantial, Werner is also a common name among the Barons of Attinghausen.
2. 

   A small treasure chest, given to Werner Von Attinghausen as a wedding present, is held by the Swiss National Museum

   The Von Signau family certainly served the Dukes, and held lands and a castle or two in the Emmental Valley, near Bern and in the heart of the Zähringen sphere of influence. A particularly cool piece of evidence for this is a treasure chest (in the collection of the Swiss National Museum in Zürich) which was given to Werner Von Attinghausen as a wedding gift and has the seals of many other noble families from Bern, indicating his close social ties to the region.
3. The lands that the Von Schweinsberg family controlled in the Emmental Valley were an enclave within Von Signau lands. One possible way that such an arrangement could have arisen is through land being divided via inheritance.

Thus if this theory is correct, a descendant of Werner Von Signau distinguished himself with valorous service to the Dukes of Zähringen and was awarded the Barony of Attinghausen in addition to his lands near Bern, perhaps around 1173. As the deputy of the dukes he was thus an outsider who came to Uri, set himself up in the mighty castle, and retained his power even after Berthold V, the last Duke of Zähringen, died in 1218.

The ruins of the Castle of Attinghausen
Roland Zumbuehl via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

The other theory is that the Barons of Attinghausen were a family with deep and ancient local ties. Uri was very remote in the Middle Ages, primarily accessible via Lake Lucerne, and not easily reached via land. The mountain pass from Uri to Italy, known as the Gotthard Pass, was accessible only via a treacherous footpath. The first bridge was not constructed until 1220, so it was not yet an important trade route.

In antiquity, Uri was under the rule of the Roman Empire, part of the Roman province of Maxima Sequanorum. But as the Roman Empire collapsed, the tribe of the Alemanni swept in. The archaeological record suggests this was the last major colonization of the valley.

Thus the second theory is that the Barons of Attinghausen were the leading local family who were elevated to barons, perhaps because this was far easier than sending someone in to attempt to displace them. (The historian Theodor Von Liebenau speculates the family could have been awarded a barony in their homeland for serving Emperor Frederick I in his campaigns against Italy.)

Another version of the Attinghausen coat of arms.
Kaffee Hag albums via ngw.nl

1. The most recent archaeological excavations of Attinghausen Castle show it was built atop an even older castle that originated in the 1000s or 1100s. This early construction date suggests an occupant of the castle well before the Dukes of Zähringen. It would have taken serious effort to dislodge the occupant from such a powerful and remote fortress. The original church appears to also have been built in this much earlier era.
2. The ancient church books mention members of the Attinghausen family who are completely unknown in the 1200s and 1300s and thus likely represent earlier generations from the 1100s. These include Lamprecht, Albrecht and Heinrich, and women named Bertha and Othilia. Lamprecht is thought to be the builder of the castle.
3. Very early on, perhaps as early as 1206 but certainly by the late 1200s, the Attinghausen men were not just barons with authority from Rome, but held the title of landammann, implying popular support of the people of the valley. This situation is nearly unprecedented and may make more sense if the Barons of Attinghausen were viewed as kinsman of the valley people rather than outside colonizers.
4. Also early on, the Barons of Attinghausen appear to have fought and negotiated for the independence and democratic rights of the people of Uri, an unusual stance (to put it mildly) for barons of this era.

Thus if this theory is correct, a leader of the men in Uri built a powerful castle in a remote alpine valley, and through service to the emperor (or as the only expedient way to control Uri) was elevated to baron. His family then married an heiress to the Von Signau and acquired lands near Bern as well. But the Barons remained more loyal to their kinsman than to other nobles, and helped establish the independence of central Switzerland.

The Schweinsberg Castle in Uri was clearly a junior castle to the mighty Attinghausen Castle
Roland Zumbuehl via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

It is likely that this fascinating debate can never be decisively resolved.

Edit: In initially conducting this research, I thought the evidence was somewhat stronger that the Barons of Attinghausen were an ancient family from Uri who married a Von Signau heiress. I said it was likely that this fascinating debate can never be decisively resolved.

But after writing this post, Ulysse Ulrich Schnegg Zumbrunnen, who lives in Switzerland and has researched the family in great detail, writes that the “Colonizing Nobles theory” is the correct one. He says that while an earlier family indeed inhabited the castle, they likely died off, and the Von Signau came in and took their name. I have included his comment here so that people do not miss it!

To the people of Uri it is clear that the von Attinghausen / von Schweinsberg family arrived from the Emmental.

The Burg Schweinsberg was built by Werner III von Signau, henceforth called Werner von Schweinsberg (1212).

That plot of land had been under control of the Barons von Signau.

The von Signau family was closely linked to the Counts von Kyburg, von Habsburg and the Dukes von Teck and Zähringen.

The inhabitants of the original Burg Attinghausen don‘t seem to be linked to this family directly. They are unknown and must have become extinct.

…

I would therefore date the family not to 1209 but to 1130 (first mention of Frh. Werner I von Signau).

Note: I have used the date 1209 on this blog because it appears to be when the name Zumbrunnen first came into use. I certainly agree with Ulysse that “the family” came into existence before this date.

Sources

The Benedictine monk Gabriel Bucelin, who published a genealogy of the Zumbrunnen family in 1678
via Wikimedia Commons

One of Bucelin’s works is called “Germania topo-chrono-stemmato-graphica sacra et prophana” published in 1678, containing thousands of genealogical entries. Each volume of the sprawling work runs for hundreds of pages. I finally located the Zumbrunnen entry in Volume 4, page 48. There’s no copyright for works this old so I’ll just post the page in its entirety, as there’s actually a sort of beauty in manuscripts this old.

I have no idea how Bucelin could have compiled this work in the 1600s. A later historian named Theodor Von Liebenau described Bucelin as an “uncritical genealogist.” I assume this means that Bucelin wrote to archivists and historians (or the families themselves) for the information and passed along whatever he received, even though some of it was inaccurate.

But, for the Zumbrunnen at least, his genealogy largely matches the family tree that I’ve compiled with the help of the modern internet, digital archives and years of research on just one family. (Even without knowing any Latin, it’s easy to pick out the Zumbrunnen names.) Perhaps the Zumbrunnen family had kept track of this information in the 1500s and 1600s, written down in family bibles, and shared it with Bucelin? It seems inconceivable that he could have combed through the local church records or ancient feudal records that largely verify his 400-year genealogy of the Zumbrunnen family, and it’s unclear who else would have maintained such records.

If anyone knows anything about Bucelin’s methods, or knows enough Latin to completely translate this document, I would be most interested.

Bucelin’s genealogy of the Zumbrunnen family, published in 1678

Burkhard would have been born in the late 1100s or early 1200s. He was the grandson of Werner, the Baron of Attinghausen, but Burkhard was not nobility himself. While many junior branches of Medieval nobles disappeared into obscurity, this was not to be the case with Burkhard. We know Burkhard through two interesting records that show he was an early participant in institutions that became Democracy, and was a key figure in the establishment of Switzerland as a nation.

The first known leader of the people of Uri (the mountain valley from which the Zumbrunnen originate) was Burkhard’s grandfather: Werner of Attinghausen. Werner was a baron of the Holy Roman Empire, but according to the ancient historians of Uri, as early as 1206 he also held the unique Swiss title of Landammann.

Landammann translates to something like the leader of the land, or the magistrate of the land. Even very early on, the person was elected by the other members of his community.[1] But whereas a Baron received his authority from the Emperor, very early on the title of Landammann implied someone who was a leader of the people of the land. Historians today recognize these Swiss Landammanns as one of the very earliest examples of Democratic leaders emerging from the Middle Ages.

Werner’s son (also named Werner) became the second landammann of Uri by 1234. By 1241 he was succeeded by Burkhard Zumbrunnen, the third landammann of Uri.

I doubt any records will ever be uncovered of how exactly Burkhard assumed his office, but the mere fact that he assumed the office as a non-noble is remarkable. Nearly all leaders in Europe of this time held noble titles or were religious figures yet Burkhard was neither.[2]

Whether he knew it or not, Burkhard was an early participant in a bold experiment in human society. In the mid-1200s, while most of Europe were engaged in bloody struggles among nobles for power over their minions, the people of central Switzerland were carving out a different model, one in which people were free, selected their own leaders, governed their own lives, and protected each other from violent incursions. We know nothing of Burkhard’s personal views, but a document survives showing something of his actions.

History buffs may know that the founding of Switzerland is often dated to 1291, when three of the Alpine mountain valleys, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, concluded an eternal alliance of protection. (Or to 1307 when the story of William Tell took place.)

But even before then, the people of central Switzerland had begun to form alliances with each other. Burkhard participated in one of the earliest known alliances. In 1251, toward the end of his term as landammann, the cantons of Uri and Schwyz and the city of Zurich swore an alliance, agreeing to protect each other from foreign incursions. I presume the original is long lost, but in the 1500s, scholars began including transcriptions of such ancient documents in their history books. A scholar named Josias Simmler transcribed an old German document in the archives of Zurich, dating back to the year MCCLI, or 1251.[3]

Werner of Attinghausen and Burckhard, listed as delegates to a 1251 alliance between the Canton of Uri and the city of Zurich

I located a copy, and although I can’t read Latin, found the passage where the delegates of Uri are named. They were the men who swore the alliance, and would have been listed from the very beginning as the witnesses to it. In highlights you can make out the name of Wernher of Attinghausen (the first Werner must have died by now, so this was likely Burkhard’s uncle or cousin) and Burkhard. He is identified in this Latin translation as “Burckhardum ammanum veterem” or “Burkhard, the old landammann.”

This is stuff from the mists of time, and little is known about it. But this alliance that Burkhard swore would be periodically renewed. The bond between Zurich and Uri has never been broken. The alliance between the central regions of Switzerland would grow stronger and stronger, and its society would become more and more democratic. We don’t know much about this era, from which Swiss Democracy emerged, but we know our ancestor Burkhard Zumbrunnen participated at the very beginning of it.

Questions for Further Research

1) It’s not known for certain how the very earliest landammann were picked, but the consensus among historians is that it became a recognizably-democratic process as early as the 1200s or 1300s.
2) The fact that his grandfather and uncle were barons probably helped it seem palatable that Burkhard could serve as leader, but none of the old sources I’ve found suggest that Burkhard used any sort of noble titles.
3) A discussion of Simmler’s transcription is available on page 40 and 41 of a book on Swiss historical practices, titled “Storing, Archiving, Organizing: The Changing Dynamics of Scholarly Information Management in Post-Reformation Zurich.”

The Schweinsberg Castle in Attinghausen
Roland Zumbuehl via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

Like the Zumbrunnen, the Von Schweinsberg family and the Der Frauen family descend from the Barons of Attinghausen, although they broke off from the main branch of the family several generations after the Zumbrunnen did. Diethelm von Schweinsberg, at the beginning of this genealogy, would have been a second cousin of Burkhard Zumbrunnen II. The Der-Frauen are even more distant cousins.

The Schweinsberg Castle, seen here, is located in Attinghausen only about a quarter mile away from Attinghausen Castle. The Von Schweinsberg used the name of this castle, even though they relocated to the town of Signau which is a little bit east of Bern. (For a map of these locations, see here.)

What follows is a direct translation of the original encyclopedia entry. (My own commentary, provided for context, is in parentheses and highlights like this) The original is on Google Books and any improvements to the translation would be welcomed.

Werner von Attinghausen is one of the founders of the House of Schweinsberg through Diethelm of Attinghausen, his grandson. And he is the founder of the Zumbrunnen, through his second son Walter who took the name of a castle that he inherited. He is also the founder of a third branch, Der-Frauen, but we do not know its junction with the other branches.

Before establishing the descendancy of the Attinghausen, I think it necessary to give a brief idea of the two branches of Schweinsberg and Der-Frauen, which are too small to make into separate articles.

The Barons of Schweinsberg lasted only a few generations. They took their name from a castle near Attinghausen.

Diethelm von Schweinsberg, of whom we have spoken, lived at the end of the 12th century. He was the arbitrator of a dispute between the Abbey of Seedorf and Lord Conrad Stuhlsaes in 1296. His wife was Elizabeth of Kemten.

Rudolf von Schweinsberg witnessed the conclusion of the peace treaty in 1350 between the Canton of Schwyz and the Einseideln Abbey.(This abbey was an important landholder and after the major churches of Zurich, one of the most important cultural institution in central Switzerland at the time.)

Like their ancestors, the Von Schweinsbergs originally favored the enterprises of our fathers, they were faithful to their country and zealous partisans of Swiss liberty. But the acquisition of a few fiefs and the seductive favors of the princes, which were spread over the family, made them forget their loyalties. They abandoned the Canton of Uri and fixed their dwelling near Signau, in a castle of their own name. They embraced the House of Kyburg, the enemy of the Swiss, and had the sorrow of seeing their castle reduced to ashes by the Bernese and the Solorians in 1383.

They must, however, have reconciled themselves with the Swiss, because Thuring Von Schweinsberg and his sister Anastasia were burghers of Bern at the beginning of the 15th century.(Burghers were basically full residents of a city. They were something like an upper middle class, but certainly something less than nobility.) In 1374, Thuring ceded the right of patronage over the Church of Trachselwald to the teutonic commander of Summiswald. In 1403, he was the Lord of Ruedersweil.

The nobles Der-Frauen, which some records call Barons, remained constantly loyal to their country.

Conrad Der-Frauen was chief magistrate (the Swiss title Landammann) of the canton in 1374, captain general in 1386, commanded the Uri at the Battle of Sempach on July 9, a battle in which he lost his life gloriously. He left two sons, Heinrich and Conrad.

Heinrich was a member of the noble Brotherhood of St. Lazarus of Seedorf, who was chief magistrate in 1391 and 1405

Conrad was a member of the same Brotherhood who, with his relative Conon, was killed in the Battle of Belinzona against the Count of Carmagnola, the general of the Duke of Milan.

Jacob, who lived at the beginning of the 16th century married Dorothea Schmid of Uri, daughter of Ludwig and Catherine de Mentlen, widow of Captain Joff Jauch.

Jacob, 2nd of the name, Counselor of Altdorf, may be Conrad’s son. He was bailiff (the Swiss title Landvogt) of Livinen in 1511. In 1550 he married Barbe Arnold de Sprinigen, daughter of Heinrich and Anne Fries, widow of Martin Zwyer of Evebach. (so it seems he was either a very young Landvogt or a very old groom.)

About the same time, Benedicta Der Frauen married Johann Puntener of Brunnberg, captain general of the Uri, from whom all the branches of this illustrious family descend. (Genealogy of the Houses of Schmid of Uri, of Mentlent, of Puntener. See also the work of the genealogy of Mr. Imhof of Blumenfeld later in this work.)

The title page

Sadly for families B-Z, the author never finished even the second volume, let alone all 26. But luckily for us, he did document our ancestors because (in a rare example of our family benefiting from alphabetical order) he included them in the entry for the Attinghausen family, from which the Zumbrunnen family originated.

This work is an especially important source because just a dozen years after its original publication, a major fire devastated the town of Altdorf in 1799, destroying many of the records to which Girard had access. Had he not written down this information in excruciating detail (and had Google Books not recently digitized it!) it’s likely that the full story of the Zumbrunnen and Attinghausen family would have been forever lost to time.

What follows is a sentence-by-sentence translation. (My own commentary, provided for context, is in parentheses and highlights like this) The original is on Google Books and any improvements to the translation would be welcomed.

Attinghausen.

Attinghausen, a parish village with a castle, the ruins of which can be seen some distance from the village of Altdorf, beyond the Reuss River in the Canton or Uri.(For a map of these locations, see here.) Attinghausen gave its name to one of the most ancient, most illustrious and most respectable of the Houses of Switzerland, long since extinct in its elder branch with the original name, but which has survived to to the beginning of this century in a junior branch. (He is referring to the Zumbrunnen!)

Without any dispute, the House of Attinghausen can be traced to the 1100s. The family had an inviolable attachment to the interests of the fatherland, and the churches and convents of the country are indebted to their largesse. The family has been known for 600 years, and all the historians of the nation have guaranteed the family’s presence back into antiquity. The archives show that the House of Attinghausen filled the first jobs of the Swiss Republic, even before its birth and emancipation from the yoke of the Holy Roman Empire and the House of Austria, and when Switzerland was controlled by the church. The sources are immune from criticism and the slightest suspicion. A certain mark of the family’s early grandeur is undoubtedly the title of Baron which it carried from the 12th century, unlike today when there’s an infinite number of titled families even in the dregs of people.(This paragraph hints at Girard’s political agenda of Swiss patriotism. It’s clear that despite his fascination with the history of nobles and their genealogy he had a healthy contempt for the nobles who were his contemporaries.)

There is no doubt that, if we had all the records which the insults of time have destroyed, we might witness the name of Attinghausen in the centuries in which it was first adopted.(There’s a debate over the origins of this family. Girard believes they’re an ancient family from Uri; the alternate theory is that they were colonizers from western Switzerland.) But we do not have earlier records than those for Werner, Baron of Attinghausen, who lived in 1189. This Werner is one of the founders of the House of Schweinsberg through Diethelm of Attinghausen, his grandson. And he is the founder of the Zumbrunnen, through his second son Walter who took the name of a castle that he inherited. He is also the founder of a third branch, Der-Frowen, but we do not know its junction with the other branches.(At this point in the original, there’s an overview of the Von Schweinsberg and Der Frauen families which I’ve translated here.)

1. Werner, Baron of Attinghausen, first of the name. Lived in 1189 (this is not a birth date, but rather his first appearance in records.); chief magistrate in 1206 and 1216. He contributed to the alliance of 1206 between the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, guaranteeing mutual aid and protection against the attacks of nearby princes and lords against the liberty and freedom of the country. (There is no doubt that the modern nation of Switzerland ultimately grew out of these early alliances that were made between these three communities on the shores of Lake Lucerne.) With his wife Richenza von Löwenstein, heiress of the Castle Zumbrunnen (He calls it the “Château de Zumbrunnen.”), he left behind 1) Werner, who follows. 2. Walter, the founder of the Zumbrunnen. 3. Ulrich, who is recorded as making a donation to the Engelberg Abbey in 1240. (Other records suggest that Ulrich was not Werner II’s brother, but rather his son. Ulrich is certainly the father of Werner III.)
2. Werner, Baron of Attinghausen, second of the name. Mentioned in public documents in 1220. Upon the death of his father in 1234 he became the chief magistrate, a role which he filled with glory until 1241. His children were 1. Werner who follows (In fact the next Werner is his grandson and his son is Ulrich.). 2. Eglolff, knight of the Order of St. Lazarus, benefactor of Seedorf. 3. Richenza, wife of the knight Von Brunberg and Pundt, from whom the noble Puntener Von Brunnberg family are descended.

   (This is the rightful spot in the genealogy for Ulrich Von Attinghausen and Von Schweinsberg. He was the son of Werner II and father of Werner III, and he is witnessed in the records from 1240 to 1257.)

3. Werner, Baron of Attinghausen, third of the name (Most other sources refer to him as Werner I, because he was the first to carry the titles of both Attinghausen and Schweinsberg). Chief magistrate from 1261 to 1267. Made a donation in 1276 to the Abbey of Seedorf of various lands and families of serfs. Left behind: 1. Werner who follows. 2. Diethelm, the founder of the Barons of Schweinsberg. 3. Anne, Abbess of St. Felix and Regula at Zurich, from 1315 to 1339. During her reign she received confirmation of the privileges of her abbey from Emperor Frederick of Austria and of Louis IV in 1331. I will observe in passing that according to a letter from Pope Innocent VII to this abbey of young ladies of nobility, the Abbess possessed rights which equaled the princes, of which she took some titles. (Most of Girard’s information has other sources but I haven’t located any other sources about Anne.)
4. Werner, Baron of Attinghausen, fourth of the name (Most other sources refer to him as Werner II, because he was the second to carry the titles of both Attinghausen and Schweinsberg although later in life he dropped Schweinsberg and only used Attinghausen). Chief magistrate of the Canton of Uri from 1298 to 1318. He covered himself with immortal glory by his zeal for the prosperity of his country. (This Werner is one of the main characters in the famous play about the Swiss hero William Tell, and is thus himself one of Switzerland’s most famous patriots.) The hereditary zeal in his family had won the hearts of all good citizens. He did not associate with the abusive barons who wrought chaos and took advantage of the troubles of the Holy Roman Empire, by fomenting the enmity of the families of Gruba and Izzelingen, burning the country, and forcing families to seek asylum abroad. On the contrary, Werner endeavored to appease the quarrels at their root. His behavior was especially distinguished as the Swiss began to work for liberation from all foreign domination.

   Around the year 1304, the insatiable Prince Albert I of Hapsburg, Duke of Austria, sought by any means necessary to annex the lands of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which enjoyed liberties that his father had respected. He dispatched the barons of Liechtenstein, with an order to make his dominion recognized. But the Barons of Liechtenstein were justly rejected. This vexed the prince who chose the path of intrigue, hoping to succeed in his designs through secret deeds of his emissaries.

   Werner persuaded the three cantons to travel to Albert and demand the confirmation of their privileges, and that they have a judge who reports only to the Holy Roman Empire, rather than reporting through Albert. The demand undermined all the goals of Prince Albert and showed the Swiss would never consent to submit to him. Werner himself was chosen to bear the requests of the cantons to the foot of the Imperial Throne. Albert could not conceal his grief at these unexpected proposals, and the tone in which he spoke to his deputy, showed he was going to avenge himself for this alleged disobedience. After vainly endeavoring to appease him, Werner came to share with his fellow citizens the success of his embassy and the threats he had sustained. No sooner had he returned to Switzerland than he received an order from Albert, demanding the three states raise a contribution for the Wettingen Abbey. Other unusual acts of despotic authority emanated successively from the Austrian Chancellery. Albert dispatched tyrannical bailiffs and judges (In William Tell, it is the tyrannical Austrian bailiff Gessler who orders that William Tell attempt to shoot an apple off his son’s head. While some modern historians consider William Tell an exaggerated folk legend, there’s no dispute among historians that Werner Von Attinghausen is a historical figure who was genuinely a leader in resisting the Hapsburgs). Werner declared openly in the assemblies that such conduct could not be sustained any longer.

   Along with his close friend, the illustrious Von Stauffach, Werner threw his fate in with the other brave patriots. Werner knew the difficult measures it would take to expel the Hapsburg tyrants. And Werner was not dazzled by the hope of a brilliant fortune if he betrayed his countrymen. He sacrificed the favors he had been offered by the imperial court and took the side of the oppressed peoples. He had the consolation of seeing himself at his death as the head of a free people, who regarded him as their father, and blessed him with many benedictions.

   His children were 1. Thuring, priest of the Einseideln monastery in 1298, who became the Abbot of Disentis in 1339. This abbey had difficult relations with the three cantons. Thuring, allied with his brother, who was the chief magistrate of Uri, restored the good harmony between the two abbey and the cantons. He made an alliance with Glaris in 1340, and helped to conclude the peace between the Canton of Schwyz and the Einseidlen Abbey in 1350. He died, according to some authors, on November 8, 1352. 2. Johann, who follows. 3. Anne, wife of Johann Von Rudenz. The Castle of Fluelen which collected the toll along the Gotthard Pass had belonged to the Attinghausen family, but after the death of Anne’s brother, she received the castle and so it passed into control of the Von Rudenz family. 4. Verene, married to a Baron Von Rarogne. 5. Ursula, married to Johann Von Simpelen, a Baron of the Vallais. 6. Walter, commander of Seedorf in 1336.

5. Johann, Baron of Attinghausen, Knight, chief magistrate of Uri in 1325, 1331, 1334, 1337, 1339, 1345, 1352, 1355. Sent by the Swiss to Como to negotiate a peace between the Lepontians of Northern Italy and Uri, who had quarreled. This treaty was concluded on August 12, 1331, under the hand of the brothers of Rusea. On the Saturday before St. Nicholas of the following year he signed, along with his father, the act by virtue of which the city of Lucerne was admitted into the Swiss Confederation. On the Sunday after the Feast of St. Agatha, Feb. 9, 1337, in Lucerne, he formally declared that he had received as a fief of Count John of Habsburg-Lauffenburg half the toll of Fluelen in the Canton of Uri, on the condition that he should assist that prince against every one, except the other Confederates of Switzerland. In that case his promise would be incompatible. The witnesses were Herman de Hunwyl, Rudolf Biber, Rudolf Truchses von Rapperswil, knight, Johann von Burglen & Heinrich von Hunenberg. The period of this infidelity is after the extinction of the empire of the Austrian princes in Switzerland, which proves, as the Treasurer of Balthasar remarks, that the Swiss, by shaking off the Austrian yoke, always allowed the princes to enjoy their revenues until, at a later period, they themselves acquired it. This conduct does honor to their disinterestedness. (So it seems Johann agreed to give the Hapsburgs half of the Gotthard Pass toll as long as they agreed to otherwise leave the Swiss alone, which the author seems to consider only a semi-justifiable course of action. Other sources say that he died in 1359. Some historians once believed that Johann abused his power later in life and was overthrown by a Democratic revolt, thus ending the Barons of Attinghausen, but the explanation here, which is now more widely accepted, is that Johann had no sons who outlived him to assume the title.) Baron Johann of Attinghausen left no posterity.

A distinctive octagonal Swiss Fountain.
Nikolai Karaneschev via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

The most direct and literal translation of the name Zumbrunnen is “to the fountain.” Zum is a German contraction that means “to the” and Brunnen is the German word for “fountain.” Zumbrun, Zumbrum and Zumbrunn have no other meaning, they are simply a shortening of Zumbrunnen.[1]

This German word Brunnen is especially used for a distinctive type of Swiss fountain that served as the town well, often located in a central square. These fountains typically had a basin in the shape of a hexagon or octagon. In their center was a pillar with multiple spouts. The top of the pillar would typically have a decoration at the top. (The fountain at the right has a sculpture of Samson killing a lion.)

The earliest members of the Zumbrunnen family used a drawing of the distinctive Swiss fountain on their coat of arms.

There is, however, a very specific story about the original adoption of the Zumbrunnen surname that has never before been shared in English (but exists in a number of old Swiss history books).

In central Switzerland in the 1100s there was a powerful medieval lord by the name of Werner, the Baron of Attinghausen. Werner was the lord of a castle (the ruins of which can still be toured today) near the banks of the Reuss River in the town of Attinghausen. He was married to a noble woman named Richenza Von Löwenstein, who had lands of her own.

The ruins of the Castle of Attinghausen
Roland Zumbuehl via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-3.0

Ancient record books speak of Werner in the year 1189. By the year 1206, Werner had become the chief magistrate (the title of Landammann) of the Canton of Uri.

Werner had two sons — Werner II and Walter. The custom of the time was often that a first-born son would inherit everything, while later-born sons could disappear into obscurity. Indeed Werner’s oldest son, Werner II, would inherit the title of Baron of Attinghausen.

But Werner did not neglect his second son Walter. Rather, in the year 1209, he gave Walter possession of the Schloss Zumbrunnen. (Schloss is often translated as “castle,” but what Walter inherited was probably closer to something that we would call a “manor house”). Walter dropped the name Von Attinghausen and began to use the name Walter Zumbrunnen, thus becoming the founder of our family.

The Barons of Von Attinghausen would die out within a few centuries, and their castle is thought to have been a ruin for over 600 years. No Zumbrunnen were ever barons of their own. In fact, they have a much more interesting legacy than most noble families. One sure sign of it is that more than 800 years after Walter Von Attinghausen dropped his birth name and became the first Zumbrunnen, our family endures.

Questions for Further Research

1) In a later post I’ll present evidence that the name was shortened from Zumbrunnen to Zumbrunn when the family moved from central Switzerland into regions closer to Bavaria, and that Heinrich Zumbrun dropped the second “n” when he arrived in America.