Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg
Swiss nobleman and colonialist (1661-1743)
Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg (15 November 1661 – 27 October 1743) was a Swiss nobleman and explorer who was one of the founders of New Bern, North Carolina. Born in Worb Castle in the Canton of Bern, he played a major role in the colonisation of North America by German and Swiss settlers. In c. 1716, von Graffenried published a memoir entitled Relation of My American Project, which recounted his life in both Switzerland and North America.
Early life
Christoph von Graffenried was born on 15 November 1661 in Worb Castle in the Swiss canton of Bern. He was the son of Anton von Graffenried and Catherine Jenner. His father was lord of Worb and a minor government official. Von Graffenried studied at both Heidelberg University and Leiden University before visiting England c. 1680. While in England, he came to know John Colleton and other Lords Proprietors of Carolina. In 1683, he returned home and on 25 April 1684 he married Regina Tscharner, with whom he had thirteen children.
New Bern colony
As his family grew, Von Graffenried found that his salary as a local government official and income from his estate were insufficient to cover expenses and growing debts.
The public source identifies “Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg” as swiss nobleman and colonialist (1661-1743). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christoph, Graffenried and Baron.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q683903. VIAF identifies the subject as 5722406. The Library of Congress control number is n86149058. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1661, 1743, 1716 and 1680.
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This entry incorporates text from “Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.