Past, present, and future united.
As early as the mid-13th century, a fortified castle stood on a prominent rocky outcrop above the Ruedertal valley. In 1520, Glado May acquired the castle and the Lordship of Rued, which included the Ruedertal as well as the villages of Kirchleerau and Moosleerau. Originally from Lombardy, the May family had risen to an influential position within the Bernese patriciate.
When the medieval castle burned down in 1775, only a few outer walls remained standing.
Past, present, and future united.
As early as the mid-13th century, a fortified castle stood on a prominent rocky outcrop above the Ruedertal valley. In 1520, Glado May acquired the castle and the Lordship of Rued, which included the Ruedertal as well as the villages of Kirchleerau and Moosleerau. Originally from Lombardy, the May family had risen to an influential position within the Bernese patriciate.
When the medieval castle burned down in 1775, only a few outer walls remained standing.
A visionary developer
Carl Friedrich Rudolf May, born on 2 February 1768 in Schöftland as the eldest son of Carl Friedrich May of Schöftland, attended military school in Colmar. He later moved to Göttingen at the age of 19 to study law, history, and cameral sciences (administration of the absolutist state).
At 20, he inherited half of the Lordship of Rued and the burned-down, long-abandoned Castle Rued from his uncle and godfather, Carl Rudolf May. In 1790, he acquired the other half of the estate and married Margaretha von Steiger, the daughter of the last Schultheiss of the city and canton of Bern.
Of the six children from this marriage, three died at a young age. The eldest son died in 1806 during the Goldau landslide.
Julie von May – a woman writes history
Born in 1808 in Bern, Julie von May became chairwoman in 1868 of the feminist and pacifist Association internationale des femmes, based in Geneva. Through her writings on the legal equality of women, she established herself as one of the leading pioneers of the women’s movement in Switzerland. In her honour, one of the rooms in the renovated Hotel Schloss Rued was named after her.
The marriage of Fritz and Julie von May remained childless for a long time. Their only daughter, Esther, was born in 1840. Carl’s granddaughter later married the politician Hans Theodor Hugo von Hallwyl, who was driven into bankruptcy during the economic crisis of 1874. As a result, Schloss Rued was also lost by the family.
From a sleeping beauty slumber to a renaissance
From 1861 onwards, ownership of Schloss Rued changed several times, until the Reinach-based company EROWA acquired the listed castle in 2007 in a poor structural condition at auction.
A comprehensive renovation, carried out in close cooperation with heritage conservation authorities and the Swiss Heritage Society, brought the castle complex out of its “Sleeping Beauty” slumber. Original architectural elements were carefully preserved and restored.
In early 2018, the seminar and event spaces were opened. Completely renewed and shaped by a fascinating combination of old and new, the Hotel Schloss Rued now radiates far beyond the Ruedertal valley.
Castle tour
We are happy to show you our gem during a castle tour. You can register for a private guided tour at Hotel Schloss Rued.
