Château Saint-Maire (Saint-Maire Castle) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, that serves as the seat of the

cantonal The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

government, the Council of State of Vaud. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The château was built from 1397 to 1425 by the Bishops of Lausanne to serve as their fortified residence. Begun under Guillaume of Menthonay, it was completed under his successor, Guillaume of Challant, and named after Saint Marius, the first Bishop of Lausanne. It served as the bishop's residence until 1536, when

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

captured Lausanne and secularized the bishopric (the bishop, Sébastien of Montfalcon, escaped through a hidden stairwell). The Bernese installed a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

in the château and used it as an armory. Upon the creation of the canton of Vaud in 1803, it became seat of the cantonal government, a role it has retained.

Architecture

The château was built as a single massive rectangular block, as was common at the time, with brick for the upper portion and sandstone for the lower portion. It originally had Ghibelline

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s, which gave it a somewhat Italian appearance, but due to the wet climate, the roof was extended and the merlons filled, probably in the 16th century. The windows that form a row just below the eaves fill the gaps between the merlons, and the arches above the windows fill the v-shaped openings in the Ghibelline style of merlon. In 1789, the Bernese built an annex on the west side of the castle, through which it is now entered. A tower that formerly stood next to the château was demolished in 1890, and around the same time, a statue of Abraham Davel was installed against the front wall.

References

External links

Page on the website of the City of Lausanne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Maire Castle Buildings and structures completed in 1425 Houses completed in the 15th century Buildings and structures in Lausanne Castles in Vaud Episcopal palaces Government buildings in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud Tourist attractions in Lausanne

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links