In the Bernese-Fribourg borderland

From Schwarzenburg station westwards to the main road and along the village brook to the marketplace. Then follow the small road branching off to the left over the wide ridge past the farms of Wart. The name recalls the old Roman road that ran from Avenches over Tafers to the foot of today's church hill of Wahlern to Riggisberg. Looking back, the magnificent view of the Alps, the Stockhorn-Gantrisch chain, and the Schwarzsee area impresses. Ahead stretches the Jura range from Vaud to Weissenstein. From the edge of the plateau, a hollow path carved into the sandstone descends steeply to the former imperial fortress Grasburg. After changes of ownership from the Zähringers to the Kiburgers and finally the Savoyards, they sold the castle and the county to the cantons of Bern and Fribourg. The joint rule lasted until 1798. In 1575, the bailiff moved out and settled in Schwarzenburg, after which the castle fell into ruin. Today, the ruin belongs to the city of Bern. Caution is advised when climbing, as the sandstone cliffs drop almost 70 m vertically. Around the castle rock, descend steeply to the Sense river, which is crossed on the covered Harris footbridge. You have already entered Albligen territory. Since Grasburg was only threatened from the west, the lords of the castle used this forecourt as a buffer zone. The ascent up the nearly endless steps to Harris is very steep. Through the Salzmatt hollow, the old path leads up to the friendly parish village of Albligen. Protected from the Bise wind, the "Riviera of the Schwarzenburg region" is the smallest of the four municipalities of the Schwarzenburg district (Albligen, Guggisberg, Rüschegg, and Wahlern). Its marginal situation obliges it to inter-cantonal cooperation. For example, primary and secondary schools, hospital and Spitex services are Bernese, while kindergarten offerings, waste collection, water supply, fire services and civil protection are managed jointly with the Fribourg municipality of Ueberstorf. Via Ueberstorf, Obermettlen, Hermisbüel, and Riedern, you reach the covered Sense bridge at the farm Unter Far, enabling the crossing into the Bernese Thörishaus village.