The Gastern Valley , also Gasterental or (according to the Swiss National Map) Gasteretal , is a valley near Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland . It is flowed through by the Kander . The rear basin is about 1600 m, the valley exit about 1350 m high. The valley is inhabited only during the summer months.
Wikipedia
Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mountain scenery and sylvan alpine landscapes.
See Bædeker Switzerland (1877) Route 35, page 151
4 1/2 M. from Mühlenen, reaches 9 1/2 M. Frutigen ( 2717' ; *Hôtel Gemmi ; Adler ; Helvetia ; Bellevue ; in all R. 2 , B. 1 1/2 , A. 1/2 fr. ) , a village in a fertile part of the valley , on the Engstligenbach , which falls into the Kander below the village . From the church, a beautiful view of the Kanderthal, the Balmhorn , Blümlisalp, and Altels , and of the Ralligstöcke (p . 108) in the opposite direction - Bridle-path to the Niesen, see p . 106.
The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of 1,008 m (3,307 ft), connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flows through Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, and the Sarner Aa, which flows into Lake Lucerne.
Hornberg Castle (German: Burg Hornberg) is a partially ruined castle located on a steep outcrop above the Neckar valley above the village Neckarzimmern, between Bad Wimpfen and Mosbach. It is the largest and oldest of the castles in the valley.
Dilsberg Castle (German: Bergfeste Dilsberg) is a castle on a hill above the River Neckar in Neckargemünd, Germany. The castle was built by the counts of Lauffen in the 12th century. In the 13th century it became the main castle for the counts. In the 14th century it became part of the Electorate of the Palatinate and received town rights in 1347. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was considered impregnable until Imperial forces under Tilly took the castle in 1622 after a long siege. In 1799, French forces tried and failed to storm the castle.
On a rocky eminence 2 M. to the N.E. of the Alte Schloss, and above the village of Ebersteinburg, are the ruins of *Alt-Eberstein {Ebersteinburg 1601 ft.), which, like the Yburg (p. 197), was once a Roman watch-tower.
The Teufelskanzel is a legendary rock south of Ebersteinburg . According to legend, the devil is said to have preached here. On the opposite angels pulpit then an angel appeared and also delivered a sermon. The legend is recorded on a mural of the Trinkhalle .
From Bædeker's Rhine - 1873: Route 45 page 238
The line runs parallel with the mountains of the Black Forest. In the distance to the 1. rises the grand-ducal castle of Staufenberg, founded in the 11th cent. by Otho of Hohenstaufen, Bishop of Strassburg, and still in good preservation.
From Bædeker's Rhine - 1873 Route 45 page 238