Aigle Castle

13 January 2021

Modern Chablais is a region in Switzerland and France, the Swiss Chablais in the  cantons of Valais and Vaud, the French Chablais south of Lake Geneva in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie.

The castle of Aigle was built in the 12th century. The castle tells the (medieval) history of the region, the rule of the Kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032), the rule of the House of Savoy (1034-1475) and the occupation by Bern (1475-1798).

The occupation of Aigle in 1475 was the first conquest of a French-speaking region. Bern also introduced the Reformation in 1528. The castle was the seat of the Bailiff (Landvogt).

Richly painted decors and the bear of Bern from the XVIth and XVIIth centuries still adorn the rooms and the gate of the castle.

The castle was bought by the commune of Aigle in 1804, after the foundation of the canton of Vaud in 1803. It is monument  and houses a wine museum today.

(Source and further information: A. M. Barelli, Le Chablais, Viterbo, 2011).