[1] The first recorded mention of Holligen is in 1257, when it was owned by the Teutonic Knights commandry of Köniz.

It was built in the style of a typical Burgundian castle, with a square donjon of massive stone blocks with four towers at the corners.

[3] A map by Thomas Schöpf from 1577 and a city plan from 1623/24 both show the castle surrounded by a ring wall with several small towers.

Between the 1624 plan and 1667, the square castle was expanded with the construction and expansion of the residential hall to the west.

Today it is owned by the Turmstiftung Schloss Holligen, a foundation that maintains the castle.