The castle (Château de La Sarraz) in the canton of Vaud has a history of almost a thousand years. The first Donjon was built in 1049 by the Lord of Grandson. The area then belonged to the nearby Romainmôtier Abbey.
The castle is located in the valley of La Vénoge on the route from France to Italy near Mormont Hill (known for its Celtic (the tribe of the Helvetians) settlement and finds).
From the thirteenth century, the Counts and Dukes of Savoy controlled Vaud and also La Sarraz. From 1536 to 1798, Bern was the ruler of Vaud, and the castle, which from 1541 was inhabited by the Gingins family (until 1948).
The castle was destroyed several times (during the Burgundian Wars of 1474-1477 and the Bern Conquest of 1536) but rebuilt each time.
Until 1948, the castle was owned by four noble families from Vaud: Grandson, Montferrat, La Sarraz and Gingins.
They passed the castle and the estate from generation to generation through inheritance or marriage until the death of the last chatelaine Hélène de Mandrot (1867-1948) of the Gingins dynasty.
As a result, the chateau has retained its character of habitation and use. Seven collections make up the museum of the Château de la Sarraz.
The museum has some of the finest collections of furniture and paintings in Switzerland.
The exhibition (900 ans de dynasties) presents the eleventh-century dynasties until the last châtelaine in 1948.