Castles in Fribourg Canton
Gruyères Castle
The Castle of Gruyères is one of the most famous in Switzerland. It was built between 1270 and 1282, following the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. It was the property of the Counts of Gruyères until the bankruptcy of the Count Michel in 1554. His creditors the cantons of Fribourg and Bern shared his earldom. From 1555 to 1798 the castle became residence to the bailiffs and then to the prefect ...Romont Castle
A document from 1177 from the Abbey of Hauterive mentions the Romont as a wooded hill. In 1239, Anselme (or Nantelme) sold the rights to Romont hill to Peter II of Savoy. At that time, Romont was part of the territory of the Bishop of Lausanne. In 1240, Peter II sent a castellan to Romont to build a castle and found a village. The main castle (Grand Donjon), with a typical Savoy square floor plan, was completed befo ...Chenaux Castle
Chenaux castle was built in 1392 by Chevalier Pierre and his brother Guillaume. Humbert, the bastard of Savoie, acquired the fortress in 1432 and completed it by an advanced defense. The castle was set on fire during the wars of Bourgogne. Today the castle of Chenaux is occupied by the prefecture but can be visited.Bulle Castle
The town of Bulle initially developed around its church which was, in 9th century, an ecclesiastical center of importance. The construction of the castle began certainly under the episcopate from Boniface (1231-1239). After the annexation of Bulle by the town of Freiburg, the castle became, since 1537, residence of the bailiffs". Since 1848, it is the seat of the Prefecture of the Gruyère and receives the Court, the ...Illens Castle
The ruins of Illens castle stand on a rock wall above a loop of the Saane river. The castle stands on the opposite side of the river from the fortified town of Arconciel. The two castles secured both sides of a crossing (either a ford or a bridge) over the river. The castle is first mentioned between 1150 and 1276. In 1366, the notoriously violent Count Peter of Aarberg moved into the castle and remained there for a s ...Rue Castle
Rue castle was built originally in the 12th century (the keep with three storeys), but the other buildings were destroyed in the 1230s. Peter II of Savoy rebuilt the castle between 1260-1268, but it was again destroyed in 1476 in the Burgundian Wars. The current residence dates from 1619-1763.Barberêche Castle
Barberêche Castle was built between 1522 and 1528, likely on the site of an earlier fortification, under Petermann de Praroman"s direction in the Late Gothic style. From 1839 until 1844, the castle underwent considerable remodeling, whereby the castle took its current shape in the Gothic Revival and Neoclassical styles. The castle is currently privately owned.Attalens Castle
Attalens Castle was built in the 12th century, but it was destroyed in the Burgundian Wars. Later rebuilt, it has been since 1969 used as private residences and concerts venue.Bossonnens Castle Ruins
Bossonnens Castle was built in the 12th century. It burned down in 1475. The ruins still contains the square and round (so-called Savoyard type, built around 1260) towers.Surpierre Castle
Surpierre castle was a bailiff"s castle in the Canton of Fribourg. In the 12th century there was a fort at Surpetra, though whether that was at the current castle site or another nearby location is unknown. The fief of Surpierre was owned by a noble family of the same name from 1142 until 1233. In the 13th century the de Cossonay family owned Surpierre and a number of surrounding villages. In the late 13th cen ...Petit-Vivy Castle
Petit-Vivy Castle is located near the dike surrounding the Schiffenensee and northeast of Barberêche. It is among the oldest preserved castles in the region. The still-preserved, mighty, four-sided keep was built in the second half of the 13th century, and has 3.5 m thick walls. Around the keep are the remains of former surrounding walls, arranged in triangular form. The residential buildings were built in the 16th ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Kisimul Castle
Dating from the 15th century, Kisimul is the only significant surviving medieval castle in the Outer Hebrides. It was the residence of the chief of the Macneils of Barra, who claimed descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. Tradition tells of the Macneils settling in Barra in the 11th century, but it was only in 1427 that Gilleonan Macneil comes on record as the first lord. He probably built the castle that dominates the rocky islet, and in its shadow a crew house for his personal galley and crew. The sea coursed through Macneil veins, and a descendant, Ruari ‘the Turbulent’, was arrested for piracy of an English ship during King James VI’s reign in the later 16th century.
Heavy debts eventually forced the Macneil chiefs to sell Barra in 1838. However, a descendant, Robert Lister Macneil, the 45th Chief, repurchased the estate in 1937, and set about restoring his ancestral seat. It passed into Historic Scotland’s care in 2000.
The castle dates essentially from the 15th century. It takes the form of a three-storey tower house. This formed the residence of the clan chief. An associated curtain wall fringed the small rock on which the castle stood, and enclosed a small courtyard in which there are ancillary buildings. These comprised a feasting hall, a chapel, a tanist’s house and a watchman’s house. Most were restored in the 20th century, the tanist’s house serving as the family home of the Macneils. A well near the postern gate is fed with fresh water from an underground seam. Outside the curtain wall, beside the original landing-place, are the foundations of the crew house, where the sailors manning their chief’s galley had their quarters.