The library of Schloss Rümligen: 400 items from a Bernese baroque château

Many stories surround Schloss Rümligen. For centuries it belonged to the same Bernese patrician family; more than 300 years ago they had it converted from a medieval castle into a baroque château. Until now, the 70,000-square-metre estate has remained closed to the public. In the course of the change of ownership, we had the honour of auctioning part of the contents and, in particular, the extensive library.

From a verge watch to a cabbage tureen

The variety of the almost 400 items ranged from an 18th-century miniature verge watch with alarm to Old Master paintings and Bernese furniture. A particular find: the rare cabbage-shaped lidded tureen by Paul Hannong, made in Strasbourg around 1750. A portrait of the Schultheiss (chief magistrate) Samuel Frisching, dated 1715, linked the auction directly with the history of the house — Frisching died at Rümligen in 1721.

A library of the Enlightenment

A large part of the books came from the possession of the château’s long-time owner Samuel Rudolf Frisching (1746-1809), soldier and politician. Among the highlights of the holdings was the original edition of Diderot’s Encyclopédie: 33 volumes with around 72,000 articles, one of the central works of the Enlightenment.

The contents of Schloss Rümligen found new owners at the Autumn Auction 2021 without exception — the sale rate was 100 per cent. Individual lots far exceeded their estimates: the portrait of Georg Bayer, estimated at CHF 1,200, achieved a hammer price of CHF 5,500.