Medieval castles in Switzerland
Hohenklingen Castle
The history of Hohenklingen castle is closely linked to the small town Stein am Rhein and the monastery St. Georgen. Around 1200, Walter von Klingen erected a residential tower on the site of the present castle. Around 1460, the battlements against firearms were installed. In 1499, at the time of the Swabian war, and from 1618 to 1648 during the Thirty Years' War, the castle played an important role and was enforce ...
Founded: c. 1200 |
Location:
Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
Grüningen Castle
Grüningen castle was built before 1229. It was in early times owned by the Counts of Regensberg. From the original castle only the Palas exists. At the place of the today"s church stood a chapel since at least 1396, which was extended 1610. In 1782 it was demolished and rebuilt in its early Classicist style. For centuries, the castle has been the residence of bailiffs. They have been assigned for the administrat ...
Founded: before 1229 |
Location:
Grüningen, Switzerland
Bottmingen Castle
Dating from the 13th century, Bottmingen castle is one of the few such buildings in Switzerland that are still intact. The first recorded mention dates from 1363, when it was owned by the Kämmerer family. These aristocratic servants to the Bishops of Basel are thought to have built the castle. In 1720, Johannes Deucher transformed the castle into an early-Baroque country manor in the French style. Although this structure ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Bottmingen, Switzerland
Tellenburg Castle
Tellenburg Castle was built around 1200 by the Lords of Kien. After the Lords of Kien, the Lords of Wädenswil became the owners of the castle. They were followed by the Lords of Turn in 1312 and then later by the city of Bern. The original castle was expanded and repaired in the 13th or 14th centuries. Under Bernese rule, the castle served as the administrative seat of the surrounding area until the creation of the Helv ...
Founded: c. 1200 |
Location:
Frutigen, Switzerland
Glérolles Castle
Glérolles (Latin glerula, 'gravel') Castle was erected by the bishop of Lausanne in 1150 to protect a road from north to south of the Alps. It was built on the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman town devastated by the tsunami in 563. Glérolles was given in 1303 to the family Palézieux who strengthened it. Bought in private use in 1802 , the castle was transformed to the modern appearance.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Saint-Saphorin, Switzerland
Vufflens Castle
Vufflens castle was built in 1425 on the site of a previous medieval castle by Henri de Colombier. It is the most significant example of a small group of fortified Romandy castles from the middle ages, characterised above all by its brick construction. In 1530, it was set on fire by Bernese troops. In 1641 it was acquired by the de Senarclens family. The castle is currently privately owned and cannot be visited. A plea ...
Founded: 1425 |
Location:
Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland
Schlossberg Castle
In 999 the Abbot of Moutier-Grandval Abbey gave his extensive landholdings around Lake Biel, including where La Neuveville would be founded, to the Prince-Bishop of Basel. At that time the region was known as Nugerol and over the next centuries the Bishop of Basel and the Counts of Neuchâtel often quarreled over the land. In 1283 the Prince-Bishop Henry von Isny began to have Schlossberg Castle built on the slopes of ...
Founded: 1283 |
Location:
La Neuveville, Switzerland
Neu-Bechburg Castle
Neu-Bechburg Castle was built in 1250 by the Lord of Bechburg. The castle changed owners several times and, in 1635, it temporarily became the seat of the Bishop of Basel. Later it served as a private apartment, an inn and finally a stone quarry. In 1835 it was acquired by Johannes Riggenbach. His son Friedrich restored the castle from 1880 onwards.
Founded: 1250 |
Location:
Oensingen, Switzerland
Erlach Castle
Erlach Castle was built around 1090-1100 by Burkart von Fenis, the Bishop of Basel. In 1224, the castle and town of Erlach became the property of the Counts of Nidau. In 1265, Peter II of Savoy brought the counts and their castle under the feudal authority of the House of Savoy. While under Savoy control, Peter II appointed a warden to occupy the castle and manage the castle estates. The warden knights took their name fro ...
Founded: 1090-1100 |
Location:
Erlach, Switzerland
Zwing Uri Castle
Zwing Uri is a ruined medieval castle north of Amsteg, today in the territory of the municipality of Silenen. The castle is notable for its role in Swiss historiography as the first fortress destroyed in the Burgenbruch at the beginning of the Swiss Confederacy. The slighting of Zwing Uri (Twing Üren) is mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen, a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by t ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Silenen, Switzerland
Mesocco Castle
Mesocco Castle ruins are among the largest in the canton. Originally the seat of the noble family von Sax, from the 12th century until 1480 it was held by the Freiherr of Misox/Mesocco. From 1480 until 1549 it was held by the Trivulzio family. A small fortified church, the Church of S. Carpoforo, was built on the hill top around the 7th century as a refuge castle for the surrounding villages. Around 1000, the fortifi ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Mesocco, Switzerland
Unspunnen Castle
Unspunnen Castle, likely constructed in the early 12th century, overlooks the city of Interlaken. The castle was the center of a 13th-14th century fief of an Oberland barons, though the name of the barons or the castle builder is unknown. The cave castle of Rotenfluh at Tschingelsatz and Unspunnen Castle (first mentioned in 1232 as Uspunnun) were used to guard the late medieval Lütschinenbrücke, a bridge at Gsteig ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Wilderswil, Switzerland
Tarasp Castle
Tarasp Castle was probably built in the 11th century or possibly as early as the 10th century. The name comes from terra aspera or wild earth, which may refer to the newly lands in the Inn river valley. They had adopted the name of the castle by 1089 when Ulrich von Tarasp was mentioned in a papal mandate to the Bishop of Chur. Around the same time the family founded Scuol Monastery, which later moved to Marienberg Abbey ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Tarasp, Switzerland
Gesslerburg Castle
Gesslerburg Castle was mentioned first time in 1263, but it may have been built already earlier. The castle moved to the hands of Habsburg family in 1291.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Küssnacht, Switzerland
Pfäffikon Castle
Einsiedeln Abbey was granted farms at Pfäffikon along with surrounding land along Lake Zurich by Emperor Otto I in 965. Soon thereafter the abbot built a large granary in Pfäffikon. Between 1233 and 1266 Abbot Anshelm von Schwanden replaced the old granary with stone tower which was designed as a watch tower, granary and residence. In 1299 the Prince-Abbot Johann von Schwanden added walls, ramparts and a moat ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Freienbach, Switzerland
Dardagny Castle
During the 13th century Dardagny Castle, along with Bruel, La Corbière and Malval, formed a ring of castles, which secured the western boundary of the lands of the Bishop of Geneva. In 1298 there were two castles, which were separated by a small road. Each one belonged to one of the two noble families in Dardagny. In the 14th century, the south building was over two stories high and had a tower. In 1646, the Favre famil ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Dardagny, Switzerland
Frohburg Castle
Frohburg Castle area was already inhabitated in Bronze and Roman Ages. In the 10th century the local Frohburg noble family ruled the area and built the castle. It was enlarged during the Middle Ages and also an iron furnace was established. Frohburg family line died out around in 1367 and the castle was left to decay. Later the stones were reused by local farmers. Today the ruins are one of the most popular sights in Olt ...
Founded: 10th century AD |
Location:
Trimbach, Switzerland
Porrentruy Castle
Construction of the Porrentruy castle took place between the mid-13th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The oldest part is the thirteenth century Réfous Tower. 14th century ramparts survive on the western and northern sides. During the reign of Prince-Bishop Jacob-Christoph Blarer of Wartensee, the castle underwent an extensive period of reconstruction by the architect Nicolas Frick around 1588. In 1697, it ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Porrentruy, 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
Binningen Castle
Schloss Binningen was built in the 1290s, originally as a moated castle. Two earthquakes destroyed the foundation walls, and the castle was almost burned to the ground. The castle was rebuilt as of 1414 but destroyed again in the wake of the Battle of St. Jakob in 1444. Over time, the castle has had several owners. A chronological list of the owners, along with their coats of arms, is displayed in the castle"s galler ...
Founded: 1290s |
Location:
Binningen, Switzerland