Lenzburg Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lenzburg Castle |
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| Lenzburg | |
Lenzburg Castle from the southeast
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 Lenzburg Castle
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| Coordinates | 47°23′15″N 8°11′08″E / 47.38738°N 8.18548°E |
| Type | hill castle |
| Code | CH-AG |
| Height | 508 m above the sea |
| Site information | |
| Condition | preserved |
| Site history | |
| Built | before 1036 |
Lenzburg Castle (called Schloss Lenzburg in German) is an old castle in Lenzburg, Switzerland. It sits high up on a hill, looking over the town. It's one of the oldest and most important castles in Switzerland.
The castle is built on a round hill, about 100 meters (328 feet) taller than the land around it. The hill itself is about 250 meters (820 feet) wide. The oldest parts of the castle are from the 1000s. This is when the Counts of Lenzburg first built it as their home. Today, the castle, its history museum, and the castle hill (with ancient burial sites) are important national heritage sites.
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History of Lenzburg Castle
The hill where Lenzburg Castle stands was a busy place long before the castle was built. People lived there in prehistoric times. For example, in 1959, workers found an ancient burial site from the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) in the carpark. There have also been small finds from the Roman and Alemannic times.
A fun legend says that a dragon once lived in a cave on the hillside. Two brave knights, Wolfram and Guntram, defeated the dragon. The thankful people made them the Counts of Lenzburg. They also gave them permission to build a castle on top of the hill.
Early Owners: Counts and Emperors
The first official mention of someone important connected to the area was in 1036. A man named Ulrich, Count of Aargau, was mentioned in a document. He was a "Vogt" (a kind of governor) for the Holy Roman Emperor in Zürich.
The first clear record of the castle itself is from 1077. Ulrich's grandson, also named Ulrich, took the Emperor's side in a big argument with the Pope. He even locked up two of the Pope's messengers for six months! At this time, the Counts of Lenzburg were very powerful lords in the Swiss plateau. They had strong ties to the Emperor.
The family line of the Counts of Lenzburg ended in 1173. Ulrich IV, the last Count, decided to leave his castle and lands to Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa. They had been on a Second Crusade together. The Emperor came to Lenzburg Castle himself to divide the land. He gave most of it to his son, Otto of Burgundy.
However, after Otto died in 1200, the Hohenstaufen family (the Emperor's family) had to leave the Aargau region. Around 1230, Lenzburg Castle came into the hands of the Counts of Kyburg through marriage. They then started a new market town at the base of the castle hill. This town is today's Lenzburg.
Hartmann, the last Count of Kyburg, died in 1264 without a son. Rudolph I, who later became King of the Romans, protected Hartmann's heir, Anna of Kyburg. Anna later married Eberhard I of Habsburg-Laufenburg. In 1273, Rudolph took over the castle from his relatives. In 1275, he even held court there. But the castle became less important as the Habsburg family's power moved more towards Austria.
On August 20, 1306, Lenzburg was given its official town charter by Count Frederick the Fair. From 1339, Count Frederick II of Tyrol-Austria lived at the castle. He planned to marry a daughter of King Edward III of England. He started building the Knights' Hall for this special event. But he died in 1344 before seeing his bride, and the building was never finished. After 1369, the Schultheiss-Ribi family rented the castle. In 1375, the castle was attacked during a siege by a group called the Gugler.
Bernese Rule: A Time of Change
In 1415, there was a big argument between Sigismund, the King of Germany, and Frederick IV, the Duke of Austria. Frederick helped one of the Popes at the time escape from a meeting. Sigismund used this chance to hurt his enemy. He told his neighbors to take Frederick's lands for the Empire. Bern, a powerful Swiss city, gladly conquered the western part of Aargau.
The town of Lenzburg quickly gave up to the Bernese army on April 20. But the castle itself was not affected at first. Konrad of Weinsberg, the king's representative, tried to keep it for the Empire. He prepared it for a siege. But by August, he realized it was useless. In 1418, he gave the castle back to the Schultheiss family. After long talks, Bern finally gained control of the County of Lenzburg in 1433. In 1442, they fully owned the castle.
The first Bernese "Landvogt" (a governor for Bern) moved into the castle in 1444. He ruled the Lenzburg area from there. A Landvogt's jobs included collecting taxes, managing the area, handling legal and police tasks, and leading the military. They were also in charge of keeping the castle in good shape. Landvogts were chosen from Bern's city council for four-year terms. The most famous Landvogt of Lenzburg was Adrian von Bubenberg, who served from 1457 to 1461. He later became a hero at the Battle of Morat.
Between 1509 and 1510, a lot of work was done on the castle. Parts of the unfinished Knights' Hall were torn down and rebuilt. In 1518, a serious fire broke out. We don't know exactly which buildings were destroyed, but it was likely the Arburghaus on the north side. In 1520, the Landvogt got a new home, called the Landvogtei. During the Second war of Kappel in 1531, the castle was used as a base for the Protestants.
In 1624, Landvogt Joseph Plepp drew the first accurate plans of the castle. At that time, it looked more like a strong farmhouse. His plans helped create ideas to turn it into a true fortress. First, in 1625, a double wall and a double gatehouse were built in a new spot on the north side. The dirt walls on the east and south sides were made taller. From 1642 to 1646, an eleven-meter-high wall was built to create the east bastion (a strong part of the wall sticking out).
However, there wasn't enough money to finish all the plans. The east bastion also caused a problem: rainwater leaked through the nearby walls. This made the Landvogt's home too damp to live in. So, a new home was built for him on the north side between 1672 and 1674.
During the 1700s, the Bernese turned the castle into a huge grain storage facility. They connected the buildings and even hollowed out some parts. This created space to store over 5,000 tonnes of wheat.
In March 1798, Viktor von Wattenwyl, the last Landvogt, gave the castle to the arriving French soldiers.
New Beginnings: Schools and Private Owners
In 1803, the Canton of Aargau was formed, and a year later, the castle became its property. The canton wasn't sure what to do with the castle, so it stayed empty for almost twenty years. Using it for government offices felt wrong, as it was a symbol of the old rulers.
Finally, in 1822, a teacher named Christian Lippe rented the castle. He opened a school based on the ideas of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, a famous educator. When the school was doing well, it had 50 students and 12 teachers. Many of the students were sons of important families from Basel and Alsace. The Hintere Haus (rear building) was used as the school, and the teachers lived in the Landvogtei. In 1853, the school had to close because Lippe became very ill.
In 1860, the canton sold the castle for 60,000 francs to Konrad Pestalozzi-Scotchburn from Zürich. Not much is known about him. In 1872, for 90,000 francs, the castle was bought by Friedrich Wilhelm Wedekind. He had moved to San Francisco after a failed revolution in Germany in 1849. There, he made a lot of money buying and selling land during the California Gold Rush. He returned to Europe in 1864. To protest against Prussian control of Germany, he moved again, this time to Switzerland, and settled in the castle. His six children, including the singer Erika Wedekind and the writers Frank Wedekind and Donald Wedekind, grew up there.
To make it easier to divide the family's inheritance, the Wedekind family sold the castle in 1893 for 120,000 francs. The buyer was an American businessman named Augustus Edward Jessup. He was from Philadelphia but had lived in England for a long time. He was married to Mildred Marion Bowes-Lyon, who was the aunt of Queen Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. This meant he was related to the British royal family. Under Jessup's care, the castle was greatly renovated. Newer buildings and military parts were removed to make it look more like it did in the Middle Ages. He also filled the rooms with expensive furniture and added modern things like central heating, plumbing, and electricity. He paid half a million francs for this from his own money.
Another rich American businessman, James Ellsworth, who collected medieval art, heard that Lenzburg Castle had a table from the time of Friedrich Barbarossa. He wanted to buy the table for his collection. But he found out he couldn't buy just the table; he had to buy the whole castle! So, in 1911, the castle changed hands for 550,000 francs. His son, the Polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth, inherited the castle in 1925. But he only lived there sometimes.
Recent History: A Public Treasure
After Lincoln Ellsworth died in 1951, his widow, Marie Louise Ellsworth-Ulmer, owned the castle. In 1956, she sold the castle and everything inside it for 500,000 francs. It was bought by a foundation created by the town of Lenzburg and the Canton of Aargau. This made it possible to open the castle to the public.
In 1960, the Stapferhaus Lenzburg cultural foundation was started and moved into the Hintere Haus. Between 1978 and 1986, the castle was renovated again. A French-style garden was added on the southwest side. In 1987, the canton moved its large collection of cultural history items to the castle. It opened the Historisches Museum Aargau (Historical Museum of the Aargau), which became the Museum Aargau (Aargau Museum) in 2007. Since 2009, the museum displays have been updated in stages.
Owners of Lenzburg Castle (Timeline)
- c. 1000–1173: Counts of Lenzburg
- 1173: Emperor Barbarossa
- 1173–1273: Counts of Kyburg
- 1273–1415: Dukes and kings of Habsburg
- 1415–1798: City of Bern (owned fully from 1433, home of the Landvogt from 1444)
- 1803–1860: Canton of Aargau (rented from 1822 to 1853 as a boarding school)
- 1860–1872: Konrad Pestalozzi Scotchburn
- 1872–1893: Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Wedekind (father of the writer Frank Wedekind)
- 1893–1911: Augustus Edward Jessup
- 1911–1925: James W. Ellsworth
- 1925–1951: Lincoln Ellsworth, son of James
- 1951–1956: Marie Luise Ellsworth-Ulmer, widow of Lincoln
- 1956–present: Canton of Aargau (through a joint foundation with the town of Lenzburg)
Exploring the Castle Buildings
The main way into Lenzburg Castle is on the northeast side. You can take the old castle path or a stairway to reach the lower gatehouse, built in 1625. Then you pass through the outer curtain wall. Inside the middle gatehouse (also built in 1625 and made bigger in 1761–62), the path turns around. It leads up to the drawbridge and through the inner gatehouse into the main castle yard, called the inner bailey.
On the east side, the inner bailey is protected by seven buildings arranged in a horseshoe shape. On the southwest side, a French-style garden is inside the castle wall. The ground inside the castle walls is mostly flat. But outside, the hill drops away quickly. Only on the eastern side, where you can cross to the Goffersberg hill, is the slope less steep.
North Section Buildings
The north section is a group of connected buildings. It includes the upper gatehouse, parts of the northern keep (a strong tower), and the new Landvogt's residence.
The upper gatehouse is the only way into the inner bailey. It was built in 1518, partly on older foundations. It's thought that the Arburghaus, which was destroyed in a fire in 1330, was once here. Above the doorway, you can see a plaque from 1596. It shows the coats of arms of the Empire, the Canton of Bern, and the von Erlach family. It also names Anthoni von Erlach as the Landvogt.
East of the gatehouse stands the north keep. Since it was completely rebuilt in 1718–20, it's connected to the buildings next to it. The gatehouse and dungeons were once located here. Only the west wall and parts of the foundation of the south and east walls remain from the original building.
The new Landvogt's residence was built between 1672 and 1674. It stands where a guardhouse and laundry used to be in 1625. The old Landvogtei building nearby was too damp to live in after the east bastion was built. Today, this building holds the main offices for the Aargau Museum.
Landvogt's Residence (Landvogtei)
The Landvogtei is a three-story building with a stepped gable, built in 1520. It's a great example of late Gothic style. It became the new office and home for the Bernese Landvögte. Their previous building from the 1300s was destroyed in a fire in 1518. Unlike other buildings, the Landvogt's residence doesn't touch the outer castle wall directly. There's a small gap of 1 to 2 meters. The only exception is a small round tower at the southeast corner. Built in 1626, it replaced a protruding bay that was used as an outhouse.
A five-sided stairway tower was added to the front of the building in 1630. It replaced a steep staircase inside. Its original onion-shaped dome was changed to a hip roof in 1760. The entrance hall still has parts dating back to around 1460. On the first floor, a long gallery built in 1565 runs along the north side.
From 1646 until 1894, the building was too damp to live in. This was because of the east bastion's construction. It could only be fixed after the dirt wall was removed in 1902. The renovation also included a new front facing the inner bailey. Today, this building is part of the Aargau Museum. It has a permanent display about the lives of the castle owners from the late Middle Ages to the 1900s.
East Bastion Details
The bastion on the eastern edge of the inner bailey was built between 1642 and 1646. It replaced a castle wall with battlements. Its purpose was to fill the gap between the Palas and the Landvogt's residence. It also protected the castle from cannon attacks from the Goffersberg hill. A huge dirt wall covered the nearby residence, making it damp and unlivable. In 1659, a clocktower was built on the east bastion. Its pointed roof was replaced with an onion dome in 1760.
In 1893–94, the outer wall was lowered by 6.5 meters (21 feet). This allowed the sealed-up windows on the south side of the Landvogt's residence to be opened again, and the walls to dry out. A rose garden was planted on top of the now lower dirt wall. During the big renovation from 1978 to 1986, the last part of the dirt wall was removed. A basement level was dug out, which now holds part of the Aargau Museum.
The Palas (Count's Residence)
The Palas (the Count's main living area) was built in 1100. It was an 18-meter (59-foot) high, four-story fortified building. Along with the tower next to it, it's one of the oldest parts of the castle. The entrance was originally on the second floor. You could only reach it by a wooden staircase outside. The main floor had a fireplace, the top floor had sleeping areas, and the bottom two floors were for storage.
During the time of the Bernese Landvögte, this building was called the "Kill." This is because the torture chamber was located inside it. In 1598–99, a new arched entrance was built on the ground floor. Between 1978 and 1986, the floors and stairs were changed. This made it possible to use the building for the Historical Museum.
The Tower (South Keep)
The tower, also called the South Keep, is 10 meters (33 feet) square. Its walls are 3 meters (10 feet) thick. It was built next to the Palas around 1170, using the Palas's west end as one of its walls. After Ulrich IV, who ordered it built, died, the work stopped. The building remained unfinished for almost 200 years. It was finally completed in 1344. During Bernese rule, starting around the early 1600s, the gaol (jail) was on the first floor. You can still visit it today.
To create more space for storing grain, the tower, the Knights' Hall, and the well between them were connected by a plain utility building in 1728–29. This meant removing the north wall of the tower because it didn't line up with the Knights' Hall. In 1896, Augustus Jessup had the grain storage building torn down. The tower was returned to its original look. The well, first mentioned in 1369, was left open again. During the 1978–86 renovation, the floors and stairs were changed to make space for part of the Historical Museum.
The Knights' Hall
Building the Knights' Hall began in 1339 under Habsburg rule. Duke Frederick II of Tyrol-Austria wanted to marry the daughter of King Edward III of England at Lenzburg Castle. So, he ordered a grand Gothic living building to be built. However, the young duke died in 1344, just before the work was finished. The walls remained unplastered.
In 1508, the western part was in such bad shape that it had to be torn down and rebuilt. In the eastern part, the outer walls stayed, but the inside was completely changed. The building got new roof timbers and several columns to make it stronger. The walls were now plastered. The building's length was made a bit shorter, as the outer wall at the west end was rebuilt slightly further east.
Around 1590, the building slowly turned into a large barn. It was used for storing grain and wine pressing. Around the same time, it got embrasures (openings in the walls for shooting). In 1758, the inside was completely changed again. New floors were added to store even more grain.
In 1893, the building was restored as much as possible to its original look. The extra floors were removed, and the pointed-arch windows were put back in the great hall on the upper floor. Today, the hall can be rented for special events.
Stapfer House (Hintere Haus)
Between 1599 and 1600, a simple two-story building was added on the southwest side of the castle complex. This was the Hintere Haus, or rear building. It was created by joining the stable and the mill under one roof. From 1705 to 1707, the building was made longer on the east side to create more space for storing grain. From 1822 to 1853, the educational reformer Christian Lippe ran a school at the castle. It used advanced teaching methods for that time. In 1893, the grain storage extension was torn down. It was replaced by a rebuilt battlement (a wall with gaps for defense) leading to the upper gatehouse.
Today, the rear building is called Stapfer House. It's named after Philipp Albert Stapfer, a revolutionary and a minister in the Helvetic Republic. Since 1960, it has been the Events Centre for the Stiftung Stapferhaus Lenzburg (Lenzburg Stapfer House Foundation). It offers many cultural activities, like exhibitions on current topics.
Aargau Museum at Lenzburg Castle
The Museum Aargau (Aargau Museum) includes Lenzburg Castle, Hallwyl Castle, and since 2009, Habsburg Castle and Königsfelden Abbey. It has a collection of about 40,000 historical items. These items come from various places: canton property, private collections given to the canton, public collections, purchases, and gifts.
Lenzburg Castle has five parts of the museum:
- Domestic Museum: This exhibit shows how castle residents lived from the late Middle Ages through different periods like the Renaissance and Baroque, up until the 1900s.
- Armoury: Here you can see many weapons from the Middle Ages to the 1700s. The most valuable items are two swords used in the Battle of Sempach in 1386.
- Faith, Piety, Art: This section displays various religious artworks from the Canton of Aargau.
- The Culture of the Banquet and Silver from Aargau: This exhibit shows how banquets (big feasts) were held in the 1700s. It includes many valuable table settings and non-religious silver items.
- Children's Museum: Located in the attic of the Landvogt's residence, this part is especially for kids.
You can reach the castle from the carpark at the bottom of the castle hill. There's a footpath or an lift between the tower and the Knights' Hall. The lift makes it easy for everyone to access the castle.
Images for kids
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Lenzburg Castle from the southeast
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View of the castle from the north
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View of Lenzburg and Lenzburg Castle in about 1642, by Matthäus Merian
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The east bastion
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Plaque at the castle commemorating Frank Wedekind, 'who spent his childhood years at Lenzburg Castle and often stayed and worked at the house in which his mother later resided, Zum Steinbrüchli'
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Arms of the Holy Roman Empire, the Canton of Bern and the von Erlach family above the upper gatehouse
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The Vogt's residence, or Landvogtei
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Stapfer House
