Lenzburg Castle, its history and famous Residents
7 March 2024
In Lenzburg (Canton Aargau), an impressive medieval castle towers high above the town. It is one of the best-preserved Höhenburgen in Switzerland.
The town of Lenzburg has an even older history. The remains of the Roman Amphitheatre, which held 4,000 spectators, point to an important settlement in Roman times.
However, the Roman name has yet to be discovered. Still, the nearby Roman garrison of Vindonissa (today’s Windisch), the border river (Limes), the Rhine and Aare and Roman roads made the location of today’s Lenzburg relevant from a military, transport and commercial point of view.
The name is derived from the Alemannic word ‘Lencis’ and shows the presence of this German-speaking tribe after the Romans’ departure. The first known written mention dates back to 893 (see also the museum Burghalde in Lenzburg).
The castle (castellum) Lenciburg appears in a document from 1077 at the time of Count Ulrich II of Lenzburg. This dynasty died out in 1173. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick I (Emperor Barbarossa 1121-1191) ) inherited the castle. After his death, the Counts of Kyburg acquired the castle and, after the extinction of this family in 1263, the Habsburgs.
Lenzburg received city rights in 1306, and the town and castle took on their medieval contours. Numerous renovations and extensions continued until the 19th century.
Bern conquered Lenzburg (and Aargau, apart from the Fricktal) in 1415 and acquired the castle in 1444. From 1444 to 1798, Bern’s bailiffs lived in the castle. Bern introduced the Reformation in Lenzburg in 1528.
The coats of arms of Bern and Habsburg are at the main gate, demonstrating Habsburg’s great prestige.
After the creation of the canton of Aargau, Lenzburg became a district capital in 1803. The town became a cotton producer and centre of the Lenzburg “cotton lords”. At the time, English textile manufacturers and politicians were also very impressed by the innovative textile industry in Lenzburg and the Confederation.
The Canton of Aargau administered the castle from 1803 to 1860. After 1860, famous Swiss, German, English, and American families, successively the Pestalozzi-Scotchburn, Wedekind, Jessup-Bowes Lyon, and Ellsworth families, owned the castle.
The Canton of Aargau and the city of Lenzburg finally bought the castle in 1956. The (Verein) Freunde der Lenzburg Association manages the castle and its museum today.
(Source and further information: Stadt Lenzburg; Schloss Lenzburg)
Impressions of the castle and Lenzburg
Photo from Lenzburg Castle, on the opposite hill the Staufbergkirche
The town hall (Rathaus)
