Aarburg Castle (german: Festung Aarburg) is a castle in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Aarburg Aarburg is a historic town and a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The small town lies in the southwest Aargau, in a narrow section of the Aare valley, at the confluence with the Wigger. It lies in ...

in the canton of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is located high above the town Aarburg on a steep, rocky hillside. The castle was built around a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, which controlled the narrow point on the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descend ...

river and served as the seat of Aarburg

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

. It is classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Today it houses the ''Kantonale Jugendheim'', for holding and rehabilitating juvenile offenders.

History

The exact year of construction of the castle is not known. However, it was probably built around 1200 by the Lords of Büron.Burgen.ch
accessed 17 January 2012 The building was mentioned at the beginning of the 13th Century, in the possession of the Counts of Frohburg. The ''Vogtei'' (a

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

or vogt was an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice (

Blutgericht High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

) over a certain territory, the Vogtei) was created to better control and monitor the important north-south trade route over the Aare River. Together with the Vogt's seat, the high court was also held at the castle. The administration area included the western part of today's District Zofingen, but without the city of

Zofingen Zofingen (french: Zofingue) is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home of an ancient monastic settlement. History In ancient times Zofingen was a settleme ...

. In 1299 the Frohburgs sold the castle and the entire Vogtei to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s. After about 1330 the Family von Kriech, a lower nobility family in the service of the Habsburgs, lived in the castle. On 20 April 1415, the castle fell after a brief siege by the town of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. The Bernese took over the lower and the high court. Starting in 1416 a Bernese bailiff resided in the castle. The bailiff managed the entire Bernese Aargau. Only later, once Bern had suppressed the rights of the nobility and the clergy, additional bailiwicks were added:

Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neigh ...

(1442), Schenkenberg (1460),

Biberstein Biberstein is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Biberstein is located on the north bank of the Aar River near Aarau. The town is a 17-minute bus ride from downtown Aarau. The neighbori ...

(1499)

(1528), Königsfelden (1528) and Kasteln (1732). The castle was extended in several stages, the first was the rebuilding of the palace in 1470. Subsequent modifications in the 16th century (1534/35) and especially in the 17th Century (1621, 1659–1673) led to the creation of the huge

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

structure. Its purpose was to protect the connection between the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

towns of Bern and Zurich at the narrowest point of the Bernese dominion and thus complicate any attacks from Catholic neighbors. From 1666, the fortress was occupied continuously by a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, the Governor was now at the same commander. One part of the fortress served as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, especially for political prisoners. The best known prisoner is

Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest (September 28, 1690 – March 29, 1766) was a military engineer, physicist and cartographer, born in Geneva and so a citizen of the then Republic of Geneva, now in Switzerland. Born into the aristocracy, he ev ...

. On 10 March 1798, the castle fell without a fight to the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. In 1804, the newly created Canton of Aargau took over the castle. Initially it served as an arsenal and barracks, then from 1826 to 1864 as a prison before it was left abandoned. The Cantonal Parliament decided in 1891 to establish an "institution for juvenile criminals and scoundrels" in the castle. Opened in 1893, compulsory education institution was the first of its kind in Switzerland. In 1917 the building was extended. Initially the system focused mainly on discipline, order and punishment. Then, in the 1930s, the governing philosophy shifted more toward education and reform. From 1946 to 1959 the center was completely remodeled and a second total renovation happened from 1982 to 1988. In 1972, the name was changed from "Reform Institution" to "Education Home", then in 1989 it became the "Youth Home" to reflect the changing objectives.

Buildings

On the narrow, elongated ridge, the core of the castle was built. This core consisted of a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

and a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

from the 13th Century. The keep's walls are thick, and consist entirely of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The bottom floor has been carved directly from the rock. The tent-like

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

was built in 1557. In 1621/22 the castle grew toward the south, with an additional living area and stair tower. On the northeast and west side are the large, heavily fortified buildings. The cell block on the south side was replaced in 1954/55 by a house for the educational staff, but it was built in harmony with the historic buildings.

References

External links

Cantonal Youth-home Aarburg

Information about the castle and tours
{{Castles of Aargau Castles in Aargau Cultural property of national significance in Aargau

History

Buildings

See also

References

External links