Castles in Aargau Canton

Stein Castle

Stein Castle was built on a rocky promontory above Baden gorge some time before 1000. In the late 11th century the castle came to the Lenzburg family. By the early 12th Century, the cadet line that lived in the castle called themselves the Counts of Baden. In 1172, the castle was inherited by the Kyburg family. When that family died out in 1263, the castle was inherited by the Habsburgs in 1264. The castle was occup ...
Founded: 10th century | Location: Baden, Switzerland

Landvogteischschloss

The Landvogteischschloss is a small castle in the city of Baden. It is located on the right bank of the Limmat river and once guarded the narrow pass over the river. Today it houses the Historical Museum and city archives of Baden. The core of three-storey castle was erected in the first half of the 12th century. During the centuries extensions were built in three stages.
Founded: 12th century | Location: Baden, Switzerland

Lenzburg Castle

Lenzburg Castle ranks among the oldest and most important of Switzerland. The castle stands on the almost circular castle hill, which rises approximately 100 m the surrounding plain. The prominent hill was already a settlement site in prehistoric times. For example, in 1959 a Neolithic gravesite was uncovered in the carpark. There have also been small discoveries from the Roman and Alemannic eras.  The oldest p ...
Founded: c. 1100 | Location: Lenzburg, Switzerland

Aarau Castle

The small castle of Aarau ('Schlössli') has remained nearly unchanged since the 13th century. The 'Schlössli' is the oldest building in the city. It was already founded at the time of the establishment of the city shortly after 1200; the exact date is not known. Today it hosts a city museum.
Founded: c. 1200 | Location: Aarau, Switzerland

Hallwyl Castle

Hallwyl Castle is one of the most important moated castles in Switzerland. It is located on two islands in the River Aabach, just north of the northern end of Lake Hallwil. Since 1925, it has been open to the public, and since 1994 it has been owned by the canton of Aargau and is part of the museum of Aargau. The first mention of the castle is in the year 1256. However, the originally free noble family of Hallwyl ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Seengen, Switzerland

Willdegg Castle

Willdegg castle in the midst of gardens, meadows and vineyards was founded in the first half of the 13th century by the Habsburgs. For eleven generations Wildegg Castle was owned by the Effinger family. During that time the castle was expanded several times. The gardens in their seasonal change are an oasis of calm and an invitation to stroll, smell and marvel. The site consists of a well-preserved 13th-century keep and ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Wildegg, Switzerland

Habsburg Castle

Habsburg Castle near the Aare River was the original seat of the House of Habsburg, which became one of the leading imperial and royal dynasties in Europe. At the time of its construction, the location was part of the Duchy of Swabia. Around 1020–1030 Count Radbot, of the nearby county of Klettgau in the Duchy of Swabia, had the castle erected. It is believed that he named the castle after a hawk (Habicht ...
Founded: 1020-1030 | Location: Habsburg, Switzerland

Schenkenberg Castle

Schenkenberg castle was probably built in the early 13th century for the Habsburgs dynasty, both as a headquarters and to protect core areas around Brugg. The first written mention of the castle took place in 1243 when the Lords of Schenkenberg, a Habsburg vassel, were granted land around the castle. The ownership changed multiple times as the Habsburgs granted it to other vassels. After the Habsburg defeat at the Bat ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Thalheim, Switzerland

Aarburg Castle

Aarburg Castle is located high above the town Aarburg on a steep, rocky hillside. The castle was built around a medieval castle, which controlled the narrow point on the Aare river and served as the seat of Aarburg Vogt. Today it houses the Kantonale Jugendheim, for holding and rehabilitating juvenile offenders. The exact year of construction of the castle is not known. However, it was probably built around 1200 b ...
Founded: c. 1200 | Location: Aarburg, Switzerland

Alt-Wartburg Castle

Alt-Wartburg Castle was built around c. 1200 by the lords of Ifenthal. It was significanly extended in 1325. In the mid-14th century Alt-Wartburg became the property of the Büttikon family and later Hallwyler family. When the Confederates conquered Aargau in 1415, Bernese troops burned down the castle. Alt-Wartburg was left ruined.
Founded: c. 1200 | Location: Oftringen, Switzerland

Böttstein Castle

Böttstein Castle was built in the 12th century for the Barons of Böttstein. After the extinction of the Böttstein line, the castle became the property of the Barons of Tiefenstein in the 13th century. In 1361 the Lords of Wessenberg were granted the castle and surrounding villages as a fief by Duke Rudolf of Austria. After the Old Swiss Confederacy conquered the Aargau in 1415, the local rulers and their jurisdi ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Böttstein, Switzerland

Biberstein Castle

Biberstein estate was first mentioned in 1280 which indicates a late 13th century construction date. The castle was built for the Counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg. In 1335 the Habsburgs sold the castle and town to Rudolf von Büttikon who established a Knights Hospitaller commandry in the castle. After 1368 the Habsburgs attempted to secretly repurchase Biberstein Castle from the Knights by using a minor noble as a str ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Biberstein, Switzerland

Horben Castle

In the 12th century Muri Abbey owned a farm on the Horben hill. Then, in 1700 Abbot Placidus Zurlauben build a rest home for the sacristan on the hill. The lower Prince-Abbot Gerold Haimb had the Chapel of St. Wendelin and Ubaldus built in 1730 near the home. Between 1752-76, during Abbot Bonaventure Bucher"s term of office, the house and chapel were rebuilt into their present form. In 1762 the interior was furni ...
Founded: 1700 | Location: Beinwil (Freiamt), Switzerland

Klingnau Castle

The construction of the Klingnau castle, originally the seat of the Klingen family, was started in 1240. Until 1269 a manor house stood on the grounds. After 1331 the outer walls were added. In the second half of the 14th century the Bishop of Constance was often a resident in the castle. He ordered further improvements and expansions. In the late 16th century, the castle, which was the seat of the bailiff from Co ...
Founded: 1240 | Location: Klingnau, Switzerland

Wildenstein Castle

Wildenstein Castle"s first mention was in 1301, with no understanding to when was it made or by whom. The two towers were built around 1350 and the construction or expansion of the palas was made around 1400. The medieval castle was restored as a Baroque residence in 1640 by Hans Thüring Effinger. The restoration work started in 2012.
Founded: 14th century | Location: Veltheim, Switzerland

Altenburg Castle

The exact date of Altenburg Castle construction is unknown, however the traditional date given is during the reign of Valentinian I or around 370. The discovery of several small coin hoards near the ruins may indicate a construction date as early as the beginning of the 4th century AD. The castle was built on a point above the Aar river as part of the Limes Germanicus to protect an easily fordable stretch of the ...
Founded: 10th century | Location: Brugg, Switzerland

Freudenau Castle Ruins

Freudenau Castle was built around 1240 to protect the bridge over Aare river. It was left to decay already in 1300 and a large part of the castle was destroyed on 25 December 1351. The remaining buildings were abandoned and decayed over the centuries. Today only ruins remain.
Founded: 1240 | Location: Untersiggenthal, Switzerland

Liebegg Castle

The origins of Liebegg castle and the von Liebegg family are unclear, though they were probably a junior line of the von Trostburg family. The first castle was probably built in the 2nd half of the 12th century. About a century later the second castle was built south of the first. The first mention of the family is in 1241 when Burkhard I and Ludwig von Liebegg appear as witnesses in a document. At that time they were u ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Gränichen, Switzerland

Brestenberg Castle

The Brestenberg Castle is a small, Baroque style castle south of Seengen. It was built Lords of Hallwyl around 1625 to the site of earlier 16th century building.
Founded: 1625 | Location: Seengen, Switzerland

Auenstein Castle

Auenstein Castle was built on a rocky hill above the Aare river in the 13th century for a local nobleman named Gowenstein. Around 1300 it was acquired by the Lord of Rinach. During a war between the Habsburgs and the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1389, a Bernese army sacked and burned the castle. Following the Bernese conquest of the Aargau in 1415, Auenstein became a part of the Landvogtei of Lenzburg. Over the fol ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Auenstein, Switzerland

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Hochosterwitz Castle

Hochosterwitz Castle is considered to be one of Austria's most impressive medieval castles. The rock castle is one of the state's landmarks and a major tourist attraction.

The site was first mentioned in an 860 deed issued by King Louis the German of East Francia, donating several of his properties in the former Principality of Carantania to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. In the 11th century Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg ceded the castle to the Dukes of Carinthia from the noble House of Sponheim in return for their support during the Investiture Controversy. The Sponheim dukes bestowed the fiefdom upon the family of Osterwitz, who held the hereditary office of the cup-bearer in 1209.

In the 15th century, the last Carinthian cup-bearer, Georg of Osterwitz was captured in a Turkish invasion and died in 1476 in prison without leaving descendants. So after four centuries, on 30 May 1478, the possession of the castle reverted to Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg.

Over the next 30 years, the castle was badly damaged by numerous Turkish campaigns. On 5 October 1509, Emperor Maximilian I handed the castle as a pledge to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, then Bishop of Gurk. Bishop Lang undertook a substantial renovation project for the damaged castle.

About 1541, German king Ferdinand I of Habsburg bestowed Hochosterwitz upon the Carinthian governor Christof Khevenhüller. In 1571, Baron George Khevenhüller acquired the citadel by purchase. He fortified to deal with the threat of Turkish invasions of the region, building an armory and 14 gates between 1570 and 1586. Such massive fortification is considered unique in citadel construction.

Since the 16th century, no major changes have been made to Hochosterwitz. It has also remained in the possession of the Khevenhüller family as requested by the original builder, George Khevenhüller. A marble plaque dating from 1576 in the castle yard documents this request.

A specific feature is the access way to the castle passing through a total of 14 gates, which are particularly prominent owing to the castle's situation in the landscape. Tourists are allowed to walk the 620-metre long pathway through the gates up to the castle; each gate has a diagram of the defense mechanism used to seal that particular gate. The castle rooms hold a collection of prehistoric artifacts, paintings, weapons, and armor, including one set of armor 2.4 metres tall, once worn by Burghauptmann Schenk.

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