Hallwyl Castle (german: Schloss Hallwyl; ) is one of the most important

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed castles in

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 on two islands in the River Aabach, just north of the northern end of

Lake Hallwil __NOTOC__ Lake Hallwil (German: ''Hallwilersee'') is a lake largely in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, located at . It is the largest lake in Aargau and lies mostly in the districts of Lenzburg and Kulm on the southern edge of the canton. The s ...

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 ...

Seengen Seengen is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Seengen lies in the Seetal valley to the north of Lake Hallwil. The municipality has an area, , of . Of this area, or 51.3% is used ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

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 ...

. Since 1925, it has been open to the public, and since 1994 it has been owned by the canton of Aargau and is part of the museum of Aargau.

History

The first mention of the castle is in the year 1256. However, the originally

free noble The term ''edelfrei'' or ''hochfrei'' ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those Germanic noblemen from the Second Estate (see Estates of the realm social hierarchy), who were legally entitled to atonem ...

family of Hallwyl were first mentioned in a testament from 1167. Some discoveries indicate that the castle was founded in the late 12th century. Hallwyl Castle was the home castle of the Lords of Hallwyl, who owned the surrounding land and parts of the lake as their personal property. It consisted of a residential tower with a dry moat. In 1265 the

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 ...

was expanded. In the early 14th century the dry ditch was converted into a moat. The old castle tower was surrounded by a moat and a wall on what became the Rear Island. To the east of the Rear Island, an artificial island was built in the River Aabach. This island, the Front Island, was outfitted with a curtain wall, and was occupied by residential and commercial buildings. During the conquest of Aargau in 1415 by the

Swiss Confederation ). 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 ...

, the castle (which was known after 1369 as the ''

Ganerbenburg A ''Ganerbenburg'' (plural: ''Ganerbenburgen'') is a castle occupied and managed by several families or family lines at the same time. These families shared common areas of the castle including the courtyard, well, and chapel, whilst maintaining th ...

'') was burnt by the

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 ...

ese troops. The castle was immediately rebuilt and expanded. After the construction of two turrets in 1500 and 1579-1590 there was an extensive general renovation. After long neglect, the castle was partly rebuilt in

neo-Gothic style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

in 1861 and 1870–74. However, this project was mostly reversed in 1914. In 1925 the family foundation made an effort to preserve the castle. Since 1994, it has been in possession of the Canton of Aargau. Excavations and building research, led by Swedish archaeologist Nils Lithberg, were carried out in 1910–16 on behalf of Wilhelmina von Hallwyl. Further research, which came up with new dates, was done by the Canton of Aargau Archaeology in 1995–2003. File:SchlossHallwylaussen1.JPG, Residential tower on the Front Island File:Schloss Hallwil 01.jpg, Residential tower and inner courtyard File:SchlossHallwylaussen2.JPG, Keep with ''Verliesturm'' (tower), in the rear is the castle mill File:Schloss Hallwil 02.jpg, Keep with stairs File:Schloss Hallwyl 2014-09-22.jpg, Aerial view of the castle

Films

The

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

lists Schloss Hallwyl as a filming location for

Erwin C. Dietrich Erwin C. Dietrich (4 October 1930 in GlarusRico Bandle: Das Schweizer Filmwunder' In: ''Die Weltwoche'' vom 4. November 2011. – 15 March 2018 in Zurich) was a Swiss film director, producer and actor, often regarded as one of the most influenti ...

's comedy, ''Die Sexabenteuer der drei Musketiere'' (1971).

References

External links

Museum Aargau
* {{Authority control Castles in Aargau Water castles in Switzerland Museums in Aargau Historic house museums in Switzerland

History

Films

See also

References

External links