Kastelen Tower Ruins

Willisau, Switzerland

Kastelen castle was built in the 13th century by the Counts of Kyburg. At the time of the peasant war in 1653 it was looted and left to decay. Today the tower remains. 

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Unnamed Road, Willisau, Switzerland
See all sites in Willisau

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Switzerland

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Willisau Castle (3,1 km)


Kapellbrücke (26,1 km)
Jesuit Church (25,9 km)
Basel Minster (54,6 km)
Basel Historical Museum (54,5 km)
Solothurn Cathedral (35 km)
Spreuerbrücke (25,6 km)
Elisabethenkirche (54,3 km)
Thun Castle (51,1 km)
Church of St. Leodegar (26,3 km)

User Reviews

Bart Pelle (14 months ago)
These ruins are an amazing sight. After only a 20-30 minute hike from the town, you'll be presented an incredible experience of a ruins dating back to 1273. With a massive steel construction totalling 300,000KG, you can make your way to the top of the former watchtower and enjoy a view that lets you see the beautiful landscape and the few towns around. The hike is light and easy, and the steel construction is very stable and doable for kids. Outside are two fire places where you can prepare food, or simply sit and get warm.
Ewelina W (15 months ago)
Lubię to miejsce, idealne na spacer, na grilla, atrakcje dla dzieci.
kamil velart (16 months ago)
Moc pěkný výhled... V zimním období vstup jen do 17 hod.
Aaron Humboldt (3 years ago)
Nice and easy hiking trip to well maintained historic tower with lovely landscape view. Free entry to the tower.
Monika Baechler (4 years ago)
The hike up is quite a workout, but it's worth it. There's no view from the ruin, because it's surrounded by forest. You have beautiful view going up, passing a vineyard and farms. The ruin is accessible, and you can go inside and up. Picnic areas and grilling places are available.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal
Photo from Flickr, copyright Polybert49

Historic Site of the week

Cochem Castle

The original Cochem Castle, perched prominently on a hill above the Moselle River, served to collect tolls from passing ships. Modern research dates its origins to around 1100. Before its destruction by the French in 1689, the castle had a long and fascinating history. It changed hands numerous times and, like most castles, also changed its form over the centuries.

In 1151 King Konrad III ended a dispute over who should inherit Cochem Castle by laying siege to it and taking possession of it himself. That same year it became an official Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) subject to imperial authority. In 1282 it was Habsburg King Rudolf’s turn, when he conquered the Reichsburg Cochem and took it over. But just 12 years later, in 1294, the newest owner, King Adolf of Nassau pawned the castle, the town of Cochem and the surrounding region in order to finance his coronation. Adolf’s successor, Albrecht I, was unable to redeem the pledge and was forced to grant the castle to the archbishop in nearby Trier and the Electorate of Trier, which then administered the Reichsburg continuously, except for a brief interruption when Trier’s Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg had to pawn the castle to a countess. But he got it back a year later.

The Electorate of Trier and its nobility became wealthy and powerful in large part due to the income from Cochem Castle and the rights to shipping tolls on the Moselle. Not until 1419 did the castle and its tolls come under the administration of civil bailiffs (Amtsmänner). While under the control of the bishops and electors in Trier from the 14th to the 16th century, the castle was expanded several times.

In 1688 the French invaded the Rhine and Moselle regions of the Palatinate, which included Cochem and its castle. French troops conquered the Reichsburg and then laid waste not only to the castle but also to Cochem and most of the other surrounding towns in a scorched-earth campaign. Between that time and the Congress of Vienna, the Palatinate and Cochem went back and forth between France and Prussia. In 1815 the western Palatinate and Cochem finally became part of Prussia once and for all.

Louis Jacques Ravené (1823-1879) did not live to see the completion of his renovated castle, but it was completed by his son Louis Auguste Ravené (1866-1944). Louis Auguste was only two years old when construction work at the old ruins above Cochem began in 1868, but most of the new castle took shape from 1874 to 1877, based on designs by Berlin architects. After the death of his father in 1879, Louis Auguste supervised the final stages of construction, mostly involving work on the castle’s interior. The castle was finally completed in 1890. Louis Auguste, like his father, a lover of art, filled the castle with an extensive art collection, most of which was lost during the Second World War.

In 1942, during the Nazi years, Ravené was forced to sell the family castle to the Prussian Ministry of Justice, which turned it into a law school run by the Nazi government. Following the end of the war, the castle became the property of the new state of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate). In 1978 the city of Cochem bought the castle for 664,000 marks.

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