The oldest part of the castle, the keep, has 2 m (6 ft) thick walls– or wider than the average person is tall!
The von Oberhofens built the original castle in the area, Balm Castle was built on a hilltop overlooking the town (Only remnants remain today.) Ita von Oberhofen married into the von Eschenbach family in 1200, taking the castle and village with her.
The Swiss Confederacy defeated the House of Habsburgs at the Battle of Sempach, opening the way for the Bernese Oberland to expand into previously Austrian territories–including Oberhofen, which was occupied in 1386.
A decade later, the entirety of Oberhofen’s feudal lands was owned by the Bernese Oberland. In 1398, the Oberhofen herrschaft and castle was sold to Ludwig von Seftigen, an Bernese noble. The area passed through several families’ hands over the next few centuries.