Murten: Castle, curtain wall and Nidelkuchen on Lake Murten

In Switzerland, there are two ways to become a city – either a locality has more than 10,000 inhabitants (this alone results in around 140 “cities” according to current statistics) or a locality has the historic town charter (this includes around 110 additional localities with less than 10,000 inhabitants). If you subtract the 10 or so cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, you get a whole lot of small towns – and I LOVE small towns. Since I have already reported about my favorite (small) town Thun here, I would now like to introduce Murten in the canton of Fribourg.

The beautiful Saturday weather lured us today to Murten, a medieval Zähringer town, which is located on the German / French language border on the beautiful Lake Murten and has less than 10’000 inhabitants. Murten does not present itself at all medieval on the city tour, where all information can be called up by means of QR codes suitable for smartphones.

We started the circular route at the striking Berntor, opposite the historic primary school. Instead of going straight into the old town, we first explored the beautiful waterfront area in front of the city wall. It is worthwhile to go to Murten by boat, because nowhere else is the view of the city and the surrounding area so impressive.

From the lakeside promenade there is a direct ascent to the town hall – panoramic view included. Afterwards we strolled through the beautiful main street with the typical arcades (which can also be found in Bern) and the many restaurants. The only negative point is that the main alley can also be used for parking at the same time, which is a bit unsightly as a pedestrian (and photographer).

From the main street, the path led us further up to the ring wall. The short climb up to the historic city fortifications is worth it, because the view over the rooftops of the old town is breathtaking.

We followed the path further along the ring wall, past incredibly pretty houses to Murten Castle, which is located at the western entrance to the old town. From the castle terrace you can also enjoy a great view over Lake Murten, over to Mont Vully and as far as the Jura. By the way, right next to it is the Murten Museum.

City walking makes you hungry even in small towns and so at the end of the tour we made our way back to the main street to try the Nidelkuchen (or as it is called in French: Gâteau à la crème) of the Aebersold confectionery – yes, it tastes heavenly!

A visit to Murten is always worthwhile – the city is small but mighty, exudes medieval romance, Mediterranean flair and the fine smell of many local delicacies :).

Click here for the latest article on Murten.