Neuchâtel Castle

Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Neuchâtel castle adjoins the collegiate church and overlooks the city. By following the circular path at the base of the outer walls, you get a general idea of the different parts of the building erected around a large courtyard and a smaller one, to the south. It can be accessed from Rue de la Collégiale or the cloisters.

The castle history dates back to the Roman age, but the first stone castle was probably built in the 11th or 12th century. It has been altered and rebuilt several times. From 1708 to 1848 it belonged to the Prussia.

The construction of the church began at the end of the 12th century and was completed in 1276. Facing the gates of the castle, the three apses are striking by the beauty of their Roman design. Only the south clock tower is ancient, the spire and the north tower being built in 1869.

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Rue de la Collégiale 12, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
See all sites in Neuchâtel

Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

More Information

www.myswitzerland.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Laténium (3,8 km)
Colombier Castle (5,6 km)
Valangin Castle (2,9 km)


Palais de Rumine (56,7 km)
Lausanne Historical Museum (56,8 km)
Lausanne Cathedral (56,7 km)
Gruyères Castle (46,8 km)
Morges Castle (63,1 km)
Fribourg Cathedral (27,4 km)
Olympic Museum (58,2 km)
Saint-Maire Castle (56,5 km)
Murten (16,1 km)

User Reviews

Elsa (12 months ago)
Lovely view over the city
Alexandru Tipter (12 months ago)
Decent views, nothing truly breathtaking. Place is clean and neat.
Andreea Vatu (12 months ago)
Great view and plenty of restaurants around
Joanne Ferrante (13 months ago)
My first time visit with my kids and luckily every wednesday is for free! And its very interesting my kids enjoyed so much
F-ace JV (13 months ago)
Nothing spectacular. Generally neuchatel is nothing special. Dont waste your time. Castle used for adm.purposes. i think you can only visit during certain hours on the weekend.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

The Beauty of Cinque Terre
Photo from Flickr, copyright Inna_Zyu

Historic Site of the week

Kalozha Church

The Kalozha church of Saints Boris and Gleb is the oldest extant structure in Hrodna. It is the only surviving monument of ancient Black Ruthenian architecture, distinguished from other Orthodox churches by prolific use of polychrome faceted stones of blue, green or red tint which could be arranged to form crosses or other figures on the wall.

The church is a cross-domed building supported by six circular pillars. The outside is articulated with projecting pilasters, which have rounded corners, as does the building itself. The ante-nave contains the choir loft, accessed by a narrow gradatory in the western wall. Two other stairs were discovered in the walls of the side apses; their purpose is not clear. The floor is lined with ceramic tiles forming decorative patterns. The interior was lined with innumerable built-in pitchers, which usually serve in Eastern Orthodox churches as resonators but in this case were scored to produce decorative effects. For this reason, the central nave has never been painted.

The church was built before 1183 and survived intact, depicted in the 1840s by Michał Kulesza, until 1853, when the south wall collapsed, due to its perilous location on the high bank of the Neman. During restoration works, some fragments of 12th-century frescoes were discovered in the apses. Remains of four other churches in the same style, decorated with pitchers and coloured stones instead of frescoes, were discovered in Hrodna and Vaŭkavysk. They all date back to the turn of the 13th century, as do remains of the first stone palace in the Old Hrodna Castle.

In 2004, the church was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO"s World Heritage Sites.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.