For some time now, an association has taken over the hunting castle and is restoring the stately ruined walls of the "Burg ze Stoke". The first part of the renovation has been completed, but there is no money for the further necessary maintenance work. Nevertheless, the ruins will soon be freed from the scaffolding and made accessible again.
Story
The hilltop castle dates back to the 12th century and was loaned to Heinrich von Wädenswil by the Austrian dukes. At the end of the 15th century, the Stocken estate and castle passed to the Thun town clerk. It was only after the reign of Jakob von Wattenwyl that the castle was abandoned in 1642 and then fell into disrepair.
The Niesenmüller
Once upon a time there were three men far from their homeland. One was from Amsoldingen, the other from Oberhofen and the third from Steffisburg. An old man gave them instructions on how to get back to their homeland. He showed them a tree on which a key hung, with which they could open the door to a golden chamber in the nearby rocks.
Each of them was allowed to take a handful of the gold once a day, but no more and without saying a word. The three men found the fir tree and took a handful of gold every day. Soon, however, greed led two of the journeymen to take gold twice in the same day. Soon after, they died.
The third man now lived in abundance. One evening he allowed himself to be tempted to tell a guest in the inn how he had come by the gold. As he had thereby broken the commandment, he could no longer find the entrance to the rock and the gold chamber. So he had to hire himself out as a servant to a miller on the Niesen. The millstones that can be seen to the right above the highest alpine huts on the Niesen probably come from this miller. There are seven of them, scattered around among a number of larger masses of stone that have fallen from the cliff. These stones are hewn round, of the same thickness and have a hole in the middle of the required size. These millstones must have been there for a long time and were definitely made by human hands.
Access
Access to the castle is currently closed, but will be reopened once the scaffolding has been removed. The best way to reach the ruins is on foot from Amsoldingen or Höfen. The surrounding courtyards or streets should under no circumstances be used as parking spaces.
