Gruyères Castle

Gruyères, Switzerland

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 prefects sent by Fribourg.

In 1849 the castle was sold to the Bovy and Balland families, who used the castle as their summer residency and restored it. The castle was then bought back by the canton of Fribourg in 1938, made into a museum and opened to the public. Since 1993, a foundation ensures the conservation as well as the highlighting of the building and the art collection.

The castle is the home of three capes of the Order of the Golden Fleece. They were part of the war booty captured by the Swiss Confederates (which included troops from Gruyères) at the Battle of Morat against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1476. As Charles the Bold was celebrating the anniversary of his father's death, one of the capes is a black velvet sacerdotal vestment with Philip the Good's emblem sewn into it.

A collection of landscapes by 19th century artists Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and others are on display in the castle.

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Address

Rue du Château 10, Gruyères, Switzerland
See all sites in Gruyères

Details

Founded: 1270-1282
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

More Information

www.chateau-gruyeres.ch
en.wikipedia.org
www.la-gruyere.ch

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Bulle Castle (4,1 km)


Old City of Berne (49,1 km)
Bern Minster (49,1 km)
Zytglogge (49 km)
Federal Palace of Switzerland (48,7 km)
Chillon Castle (22,4 km)
Palais de Rumine (35,1 km)
Lausanne Historical Museum (35 km)
Nydeggkirche (49,5 km)
Lausanne Cathedral (35 km)

User Reviews

Елена Целищева (11 months ago)
Great place for half day trip. My family and I enjoyed atmosphere there. Nice museums, good movie about castle's history. Interesting cafes nearby. Highly recommend.
Michel Axe (11 months ago)
Wonderful castle and the town itself. The building 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. Many interesing activities for children around, chocolate and cheese factories, for example.
Suzanne Killin (11 months ago)
Pity the clouds were there but the pretty little castle was nice to see. Even better if we could have walked around the outside of it more. There is a fascinating alien bar up there too for alien fans !
Παντελής Διαμάντης (12 months ago)
It's a wonderful place. You must visit it. The view was great. Inside of it you can find different stores. You can buy chocolates or souvenir. You can eat a decent meal or drink a coffee. There is also a museum inside but I didn't visit it.
Violette Serres (13 months ago)
Beautiful castle worth a visit. There is a short 20 min movie about the history of the town that was well made and entertaining. The castle itself is interesting to visit, well maintained and great views on the valleys and surrounding mountains. You can have combined tickets with the cheese factory. The paintings of some of the rooms are beautiful.
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UNESCO lists the palace and garden among the World Heritage Sites. As the nomination dossier explains, 'the castle is a good but not outstanding example of a type of aristocratic or princely residence that has survived widely in Europe. The Pleasure Garden, by contrast, is a very rare and largely intact example of a Baroque garden'. Apart from the formal parterres there is also a less formal nineteenth-century English garden, which sustained damage during floods in 1997.

Interiors of the palace were extensively used by Miloš Forman as a stand-in for Vienna's Hofburg Imperial Palace during filming of Amadeus (1984), based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who actually never visited Kroměříž. The main audience chamber was also used in the film Immortal Beloved (1994), in the piano concerto scene.

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