Chillon Castle in Switzerland

Magnificent snow-capped peaks of the Alps against the blue sky, and under them - incredible beauty boundless Geneva Lake ... Switzerland - the country is extremely picturesque. The mountain air here is just healing. Not for nothing that Switzerland has become the first climatic health resort for the treatment of pulmonary diseases, in particular tuberculosis. And with the fashion for trekking, mountaineering and skiing, the popularity of this small country in the heart of Europe has only increased. But Switzerland has other attractions. No, this article does not deal with ultra-precise watches, chocolate or Swarovski rhinestones. The country of medieval castles is considered to be France. But Switzerland does not lack them either. It is enough to recall at least the castles of Granson (de Grandson) or Chillon (Château de Chillon). And if the first stands on the shore of Neuchatel Lake, thirty kilometers north of Lausanne, then the second towers directly above the waters of Lehman. In this article we will talk about the Château de Chillon: how to get to the castle and what to see.

Places of interest in Lake Geneva

The ancient Romans, pushing the boundaries of their empire to the north, discovered this pond and named it Lacus Lemannus. With the formation of the Swiss Confederation, the lake was called Geneva - by the largest city on its shores. But later people again returned to the old name. So it turned out that the lake on Russian maps is listed as Geneva, and on European maps as Lehman. This crescent-shaped reservoir is located on the border between France and Switzerland. It stretched from the west to the east for seventy kilometers. The northern shore is a continuous chain of fashionable resorts, united under the common name of the Swiss Riviera. Perhaps, the business card Lehmann is the Geneva Fountain. For a hundred and twenty years, he uninterruptedly throws a jet of water to a height of 150 meters. St. Peter's Cathedral of the thirteenth century - a kind of architectural dominant of Geneva. The capital of the canton of Vaud Lausanne is the second largest city on the Lake Geneva. Here is a very mild microclimate, allowing to grow grapes. At one time, Mozart, Byron, Hugo, Dickens and other famous personalities rested in Lausanne. And in the neighboring town of Vevey lived the last years of Charlie Chaplin. The grave of the most famous comedian is in the city cemetery. Vevey was visited by Dostoevsky and Gogol, Ernest Hemingway. Yverdon-les-Bains has a natural sandy beach all over Lake Geneva. There are also healing springs, which created the town the glory of the balneological resort. And finally, the lovely Montreux. This town is located on a low hill near the majestic Alpine mountains and Lake Geneva. It is in it that the castle of Chillon is located .

How to get there?

Montreux is located on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva, only forty kilometers from Lausanne. Among the great Russian celebrities here were Leo Tolstoy, Igor Stravinsky and Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Vladimir Nabokov lived here his last seventeen years. Montreux is known as a resort for active people. It has many golf and yacht clubs, horse riding centers. The smooth waters of the lake are covered by skiers, climbers climb climbers, and hikers hike around the surrounding slopes. Montreux is also known for its gardeners. Whenever you come, the city will delight you with a wild flowering - from primroses and tulips to chrysanthemums and cyclamens. Four kilometers from Montreux is its main attraction - the Chillon Castle. You can get to it on the highway A9. Near the castle there is free parking. From Montreux to Chillon, bus number 1 runs every ten minutes. Visiting the castle museum will cost an adult twelve francs, and a child - twice cheaper.

History of the medieval fortress

Chillon rises on a small rock protruding from the bottom of Lake Geneva. With the shore the castle is connected by a bridge. Chillon was built in a strategically important place. After all, the Saint Bernard Pass is not far away. Thus, the fortress controlled the main route from Europe to Italy. The history of the castle, according to scientists, begins with the ninth century. But the present appearance of Chillon took in the thirteenth century, under Peter of Savoy. Archaeologists find in this place and Roman coins, although there is no information about the presence of a camp here or the strengthening of the times of antiquity. The first written certificate of Castrum Quilonis Castle dates back to 1160. Even then it was the main residence of the Dukes of Savoy. In 1253, Pierre II conceived a grandiose reconstruction of the castle, which continued (with small interruptions) until the fifteenth century. But those twenty-five buildings on the three inner courtyards of the citadel that we see now were built by the architect Pierre Meunier in the middle of the thirteenth century.

Castle-prison

Since the fourteenth century pilgrims and merchants to Italy, the St. Gothard Pass has been increasingly used. The castle of Chillon gradually lost its original meaning - control over the main tract. The Dukes of Savoy began to use not so much the castle's chambers as its dungeons. During the Black Plague (1347), Jews were tortured in casemates, extorting from them confessions that they had poisoned the sources with a terrible disease. Then the Dukes of Savoy - ardent Catholics - kept the Huguenots in prisons, burning them as heretics in one of the courtyards. During the witch-hunting, the same fate awaited women accused of witchcraft. Those who died in torture chambers from hunger and torture were thrown out by the guard to Lake Geneva through special windows. All these outrages lasted until May 29, 1536, until the castle after two days of siege was taken by the Protestants of Bern. In 1798, when the canton of Waugh became independent, the citadel became his property. Soon a museum was opened in the castle.

The famous prisoner

Numerous eminent persons languished in the cellars of the citadel. Here, for example, the abbot Valu of Corwea, who was imprisoned in the castle of Chillon by order of the French King Louis Pious. Or the great chancellor of Savoy Guillaume de Bolome, who, a century after the fire of the Jews, was drowned in the Geneva Lake near the walls of the citadel. But the most famous prisoner of the castle was François Bonivar. He was a Prior at the Monastery of San Victor in Geneva, and when he began to support the ideas of the Reformation, immediately fell into disgrace with the Duke of Savoy Charles III, an ardent papist. From 1532 to 1536, Francois Bonivar "without trial and trial" spent in the prison of the Chillon Castle, chained to a post. And it would most likely have been waiting for part of Guillaume de Bolome, if Protestants from Berne had not taken the fortress by storm.

Romanticism of the Chillon Castle

In the summer of 1816, the English poet George Gordon Byron visited Lake Geneva (Switzerland). Among other attractions, he visited the medieval castle, towering directly out of the water. In the fortress of Byron told the story of François Bonivar. Shocked by what he heard, he wrote the poem "The Prisoner of Chillon". In the basement of the castle there is a pillar. The poet was told that it was to this crossbar that the great Huguenot was chained for four years. And Byron left his autograph on the historical post. The Château of Chillon in Montreux was also mentioned by Percy Shelley, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. The castle was visited by such famous personalities as Auguste Flaubert, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Hans Christian Andersen.

Castle Museum

Thanks to the poem, the fortress became a world celebrity. In the 19th century, medieval buildings did not pay, turning them into barracks or warehouses. But the Castle of Chillon was a happy exception. Already in 1887 the Association for the Preservation of the Monument was established. The authorities of the canton of Vaud also did not stand aside, and in 1891 the castle was awarded the status of a historical monument. And in 1939 the fortress-museum was visited by one hundred thousand people.

What do you need to see in Chillon Castle?

This is the most famous architectural landmark in Switzerland. The Geneva Lake and the Chillon Castle look like one organic whole. From the height it seems as if the ship has moored at the shore. The castle consists of twenty-five buildings in three courtyards. In the center rises the dungeon. The only cult building is the castle chapel. It retains the murals of the XIV century. Visitors spend on enfilades of grandiose chambers. This is a festive, knightly, coat of arms, a guest room, a count's bedroom. No less interesting is the prison. The dungeon with the vaulted ceiling reminds a Gothic cathedral. To get the most out of the excursion, it is necessary to purchase a brochure in Russian at the checkout.