Gruyères Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Le château de Gruyères, as seen from behind

The Castle of Gruyères (in French: château de Gruyères), located in the medieval town of Gruyères, Fribourg, is one of the most famous in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[1]

History

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. 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.

Museum

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.

The romantic landscapes inside the castle were painted in mid 19th century by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and other well known artists.[2]

An international collection of Fantastic Art is also exhibited.

The French garden behind the château
The castle of Gruyères

References

  1. ↑ "Kantonsliste A-Objekte". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
  2. ↑ Château de Gruyères (site officiel) – Bienvenue : Willkommen : Welcome
  • Gremaud, Henri; Fleury, Gilbert; Chatton, Etienne; Château de Gruyères, Villars-sur-Glâne : G. Fleury, 1991, OCLC 79931005
  • Guadalupi, Gianni; Castles of the world, New York : Barnes & Noble 2006. OCLC 123995819
  • Guex, François; Le château de Gruyères, Fribourg Service des Biens Culturels 2005. OCLC 180968172

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Castle of Gruyères.
Castles and Fortresses of the Canton of Canton of Fribourg

Coordinates: 46°35′05″N 7°05′02″E / 46.584818°N 7.083988°E / 46.584818; 7.083988

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.