Spiez is first mentioned around 761–62 as
Spiets. The area between the
Kander and
Lake Thun in modern Spiez was home to several large
Bronze and
Iron Age settlements. Three separate Bronze Age cemeteries with numerous graves contained a wealth of bronze axes, knives and cloak pins from 1750 to 1500 BC. On a nearby hill, the
Bürg site is slightly younger and contained knives, arrow and spear heads, a horse's bridle and a razor. The
Eggli hill top was apparently a religious site during the Bronze and
Iron Ages. The center of the religious site was a granite block surrounded by ash from fires and thousands of shattered ceramic fragments. The
Eggli site was probably used from about 1500 until 500 BC.
Celtic graves from the 4th to 2nd century BC contained gold,
amber and glass ornaments which were imported from over the
Alps. A rare
funerary urn was buried at Faulensee during the 1st century BC. During the
Roman era there was no permanent settlement in the area, but some
Roman coins and Roman graves have been discovered. After the
fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the
Early Middle Ages the Spiez area was home to several scattered settlements. According to Elogius Kiburger, the author of the Strättliger Chronicle, in 933 the
King of Burgundy,
Rudolph II, built
Spiez Castle. Shortly thereafter, the
Freiherr von Strättligen settled in the castle. Portions of the current castle
shield walls and main tower were built during the 12th century and by the 13th century the town of Spiez existed outside the castle walls. By 1280 the castle was listed as an Imperial
fief under
Vogt Richard von Corbières. In 1289 the Freiherr von Strättligen was co-owner of the castle along with a succession of other noble families. In 1308
King Albert I of Habsburg was murdered at
Windisch on the Reuss, by his nephew Duke
John Parricida. As part of their retaliation for the murder, the
Habsburgs withdrew half of the Spiez fief from Thüring von Brandis and granted the whole fief to Johannes von Strättligen. Thirty years later, in 1338, Johannes sold the castle, town, church and surrounding villages to Johann II von Bubenberg who was the
Schultheiss of
Bern. By 1340, the Bubenberg appointed
vogt took orders from Bern, but was obligated to raise troops for the Habsburgs. As Bern was
de facto independent from their former overlords, the Habsburgs, this created an unstable situation which remained for over 40 years. After the Bernese and
Swiss Confederation victory over the Habsburgs in the
Battle of Sempach in 1386, the Habsburgs gave up their land claims west of the
Aare, which included Spiez. The former Church of St. Laurentius, next to the castle, was first mentioned in 761–62, when the
patronage rights over the church were given to
Ettenheim Monastery in
Breisgau. The church was one of the twelve Lake Thun churches in the Strättliger Chronicle. The current early
Romanesque building was built during the 7th or 8th century, while the
crypt dates from about 1000. Outside the church, a number of graves from the 7th and 8th centuries have also been discovered. It was the
parish church for a
parish that included Spiez, Spiezwiler, Einigen, Faulensee and Hondrich. When Bern adopted the new faith of the
Protestant Reformation in 1528, the church became the center of the new Reformed parish. The castle and surrounding land remained with the Bubenberg family until their extinction in 1506, when it was acquired by Ludwig von Diesbach. Von Diesbach held it for ten years before Ludwig von Erlach acquired the castle and lands. The von Erlach family ruled the town and villages until the
1798 French invasion. The
town charter was first documented in 1406, however there were citizens of Spiez with some codified rights as far back as 1312. A town wall was built early in Spiez's history. However, it fell into disrepair and was destroyed in a fire in 1600. Over time the surrounding villages came to be included in the town charter and their residents became citizens of Spiez. After the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the
Helvetic Republic, the von Erlach family lost their land rights and jurisdiction over the village, but retained ownership of the castle until 1875. (1919) Historically the residents of Spiez and the surrounding villages raised orchards and
vineyards on along the lake, fished in the lake and shipped goods along the lake or raised crops in the valleys. The vineyards of Spiez were first mentioned in 1338 and remained in operation until an outbreak of disease destroyed the plants in 1900. An attempt in 1927 to restart the wine industry on Spiez mountain and at Faulensee was fairly successful. The villages along the Kander were often threatened by flooding, until the Kander was diverted into the lake in 1711–13. The construction of the Lake Thun road in 1844 and steam ship docks in 1835, 1876 and 1926 helped open the town to the rest of the country. Due to the mild climate and transportation links, Spiez became a popular health and spa town in the 19th century. Beginning in 1856 resorts and hotels, including the Schonegg, Spiezerhof and Faulensee-Bad, opened along the lake shore. The Thun-Spiez-Interlaken (1893), Spiez-Zweisimmen-Montreux (1897–1905) and Spiez-Frutigen-Lötschberg-Simplon (1901–13) railroads all helped the tourist industry and the rest of the town to grow. The growing population led to the construction of a secondary school and seven primary schools around the municipality. In the 1980s the
A6 and
A8 motorways further connected Spiez and the surrounding villages. In 1990 the Kander Tunnel opened, which helped reduce noise and pollution in the municipality. ==Geography==