Delémont Castle

Delémont, Switzerland

Built as a summer residence for Prince-Bishop Jean-Conrad de Reinach, Delémont Castle was completed by architect Pierre Racine in 1721. Located in what is now the old town, it consists of a huge baroque complex standing between a courtyard and garden. Today, it is home to the town’s elementary schools.

The castle garden was restored in 2003 based on the original design of the baroque garden. It is divided into eight large squares surrounding a fountain. The first four squares bordering the water are lawned, while those on the eastern and western edges of the garden comprise large slabs made from white limestone concrete. The former orangery in the west of the garden was used as a synagogue from 1880 to 1909.

References:

Upper Rhine Valley

Address

Rue du vingt-trois Juin 25, Delémont, Switzerland

See all sites in Delémont

Details

Founded: 1716-1721
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

More Information

www.upperrhinevalley.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Jura Museum of Art and History (0,1 km)

Old City of Berne (47 km)
Bern Minster (47 km)
Zytglogge (46,9 km)
Federal Palace of Switzerland (47 km)
Basel Minster (28,5 km)
French Church (46,8 km)
Nydeggkirche (47 km)
Basel Historical Museum (28,2 km)
Solothurn Cathedral (22,8 km)

User Reviews

Ximena Alonso (15 months ago)
Cute school

Pérez Belén (2 years ago)
Super cool

Milena Wolff (3 years ago)
Magnificent atmosphere.

Silvana Dell'Anna (4 years ago)
What could be better than a good open-air film on a beautiful summer evening? ☆

Konrad Marfurt (4 years ago)
Nice place for a school

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Photo from Flickr, copyright marcoverch

Historic Site of the week

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, Festung Koblenz, by Prussia between 1817 and 1832 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The fortress was never attacked.

Early fortifications at the site can be dated back to about 1000 BC. At about AD 1000 Ehrenbert erected a castle. The Archbishops of Trier expanded it with a supporting castle Burg Helferstein and guarded the Holy Tunic in it from 1657 to 1794. Successive Archbishops used the castle's strategic importance to barter between contending powers; thus in 1672 at the outset of war between France and Germany the Archbishop refused requests both from the envoys of Louis XIV and from Brandenburg's Ambassador, Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal, to permit the passage of troops across the Rhine.