Castle Grandson Le château de Grandson Neuenburgersee

The medieval Castle Grandson: Le château de Grandson is enthroned over the Lake Neuenburg in Switzerland. The Chateau can be found on a small ledge above the shores of Lake Neuenburg. The size and massiveness of the castle impresses at the very first sight. It belongs to the most massive fortifications of Switzerland and despite its almost 1,000-years history is best preserved.

The first time the Castle Granson was mentioned in history was in 1050, the castle grounds were further extended in the following years, i.e. between the 11th and 14th century. Today’s appearance developed largely during the 13th century by conversion and extension under Otto 1st of Grandson.

When walking through the rooms, castle visitors are transported into the times of ancient centuries. Whether a walk through the magnificent Knight’s Hall, a view to the Choir Stalls of 1620 or the inspection of the Arms Hall – there are a lot of details of Swiss or better European history to discover.

The castle chapel with paintings of the painter Jan Metsys of the 16th century allows a view to the art of the reformation time. Particularly popular for small and large visitors are the arms exhibition and the automobile museum.

The arms exhibition of the castle offers its visitors an extraordinary collection of old arms and armaments for view. Also the famous battle of Grandson, one of the three large battles of the Burgundian wars which took place at the Lake Neuenburg in March 1476 and which was won by the Swiss can be found here as a model. At that time, the Swiss citizens and Karl the Bold had armed conflicts at the shores.

The automobile museum is more topical. There you can find automobile collector’s items such as the famous Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 of Greta Garbo or the Austin Cambridge Saloon of Winston Churchill.

Castle Grandson – Le château de Grandson

Even today, Le château de Grandson is still integrated in the events around the lake. However, nowadays the strong walls serve as crowd-pullers on the occasion of a medieval festival in summer and for Christmas markets in winter. Also exhibitions, festivals and stage performances often find a beautiful scene in the Le château de Grandson.

Today, the Castle Grandson is owned by the foundation for art, history and culture. The castle is open for tourists during the whole year.  A bar with café at the terrace invites for staying. You can get to the castle by your own car or by Autobus as well. There are around 60 parking spaces for visitors in front of the castle. Every 30 minutes, buses shuttle back and forth between the train station Yverdon-les-Baines to Gardon.

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