Architecture: Castles

The well-preserved castle of Neuchâtel, which is over 1,000 years old and from which the city gets its name, towers above the small city of Neuchâtel. From here, you have the best view for miles.

Waldegg Castle is rightly considered the most beautiful country manor of the Solothurn patriciate. Here, where ambassadors and the aristocracy once went in and out, visitors can immerse in the same bygone world today - and learn of a time when Solothurn was the seat of the French ambassadors with the aid of a modern, multimedia guide.

On the edge of the old town, Zug Castle is the oldest still preserved profane building in Zug and is a landmark of the city. With its many nooks and crannies, Zug Castle has been home to the museum of cultural history for the city and the Canton of Zug since 1983.

The fortifications of Bellinzona are an extraordinary example of a late-medieval defensive structure located at a key strategic point on the Alpine pass. The castles of Bellinzona are among the most marvelous examples of medieval fortified architecture in the Alps.

Chillon Castle is located on a rock on the banks of Lake Geneva. The water castle is the most visited historic building in Switzerland. For nearly four centuries Chillon was the residence and profitable toll station of the Counts of Savoy.

The locals still think of the ruins as their own Stein Castle. Standing majestically over Baden, it offers a magnificent view of the Old Town.

Schadau Castle was built between 1846 and 1854 for the Neuchâtel banker Denis Alfred de Rougemont. The location of the castle, on the southern banks of Lake Thun where the River Aare flows out of the lake, and with its views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, is almost as attractive as the architecture itself.

The medieval castle above the town of Thun is a striking focal point at the entrance to the Bernese Oberland region. This almost completely preserved symbol of power contains the Knights' Hall, one of the few surviving halls of its type from the Middle Ages.