The Wolfensberger Memorial

The plaque reads:

The Historic Wolfensberger Family Home

This is the site of the original ancestral home of the Wolfensberger family, an ancient Swiss family whose origins can be traced to the 13th Century. Family history identifies the first of the Wolfensberger line as Knight Baldebert of Wolfsberg (1233-1259). A 16th Century map of northern Switzerland depicts a Wolfensberger family castle in this site as well as a family crest that is applicable to all descendents of this international family.


At last there is a Wolfensberger homeland. Seven hundred years after a fortress was first built on the Wolfensberg, a scenic timber-covered hill topped by three peaks, a memorial was unveiled September 28, 2001, to mark the site where our family originated. 

The memorial is the culmination of nearly three years effort by American and Swiss members of the Wolfensberger Family Association who partnered with Swiss organizations to recognize the earliest known home of the family. A two ton stone hauled from the bed of the nearby Toess River is today fitted out with plaques in English and German noting that the hilltop site is the first known home of the family. It is now part of a hiking path and picnic area contributed by the town government of Bauma, its tourist information bureau, and a cantonal hiking association.

Today, the Wolfensberger memorial is a prime attraction for any descendant who tours the Zurich region.  Take the train or drive to Bauma, then head to the town’s tourist information bureau, the Verkehrsverein, located in Bauma's town hall, the Gemeindehaus. There, ask for English-language driving directions to the site. Come for lunch in good weather, and fix a meal on-site. Cook your meal over a grill and sit down to enjoy the wooded scenery of the Wolfensberg, the hill that gave the family its name.
If you are planning a visit to Bauma, make sure you get the driving directions to the Memorial site. You can find them here.