Turn

The lords of Turn were a noble family of the Valais, with Bernese Oberland estates. Possibly descended from a cadet line of the de la Tour family of the Dauphiné, they appear as vassals of Saint-Maurice Abbey. Around 1170 Wilhelm I and his brother Amadeus, Bishop of Sion, are the first documented members, and Wilhelm built or enlarged Gestelnburg as the family seat.

Backed by Savoy, they fought the Bishops of Sion for mastery of the Valais; Peter of Turn was defeated with the Savoyards at Leuk in 1296 and had to grant rights to the valley communes.

In 1375 Anton von Turn's followers murdered Bishop Witschard Tavelli, whereupon the communes rose and Anton fled to Savoy, which bought his Valais estates. In 1400 he sold Frutigen to Bern, and died in exile in 1405, the last of his line.