GRUYÈRES
CASTLE
Savoy Chateau in the Land of Cheese and Chocolate
The medieval
village of Gruyères, Switzerland seems tailor made
for a tourist attraction. From the cobble stoned center of the village
it almost seems like a movie set. Most other middle-ages era towns in
Europe are surrounded by the signs of modernity, with streets leading
on to newer parts, but old Gruyère,
set on low hilltop never really allowed for expansion. The walled town
is an extension of the castle
once the fortification of the Counts of Gruyères, built between
1270 and 1282.
The
name of Gruyère comes from the French word
for Crane (grue), the bird featured on the heraldic arms of the house
of the counts. The early lords of that family were allied with the
Burgundian-Italian House of Savoy, whose
influence can been found in many of the medieval castles of southern
Switzerland (see Chateau
Chillon and Chateau
Aigle).
From the 13th to 16th Century the castle developed from fortress to
noble residence until the last of the Gruyeres counts, Michel fell
into debt and the family lands were divided among his creditors in
Fribourg and Bern, when the castle became the residence of the ruling
bailiffs
of Fribourg until the end of the 18th Century. The Gruyeres Castle
(Chateau de Gruyères) became one of the most famous in Switzerland
mostly from a series of paintings in the age of romantic landscapes
or the 1800s,
with the square walls and tower turrets crowning its hillside, surrounded
by trees against the background of verdant or snow covered mountains.
Climbing
up through the castle floors finds the restoration mostly from the
mid-19th century, with palace style living quarters the Bovy and
Balland families would have furnished as their summer residence, with
rich and impressive rooms of wood panels in the Knights Hall, the Corot’s
Room parlor with walls painted with dipictions of the castle’s
medieval legends and beautiful Crane motif ceiling panels, Flemish
tapestries in the count’s bedroom, the robe of Burgundy’s
Charles the Bold, and a great fireplace so huge it has a door inside
through to the
kitchens. The
battlement outer walls of castle surround an enclosed French style
formal garden. The walls can be walked, or follow the
path outside
the walls for views of the mountains or modern day town below. In mid-June
for two days, a medieval festival - the Saint-Jean or Johannisfest
(Festival of St John) is held at the castle and takes over the village
with middle-ages
re-enactors, crafts and weaponry demonstrations and falcony show.
A
visit to the Chateau Gruyeres begins (or ends) with a brand new multimedia
show, simply entitled “Gruyères” with the history
of the town and castle told by a craggy-faced wryly amused jester
character from the castle legends named Chalamala. The imaginative
show is
presented
in
a refurbished former caretakers lodge with projections and lights
in the rafters as well as wide screen with audio in 8 languages for
a
three dimensional journey through history.
The
Castle of Gruyère is open every day from 9am to 5:30pm
April to October and 10am to 4:15 November to March. The Gruyeres Castle is free with a Swiss Pass and is included with a
trip on the Chocolate
Train from Montreux, which also includes visits to the Gruyere
cheese factory (see Gruyere
Cheese Making Tour)
and the Nestle-Callier Chocolate factory in nearby Broc (see Chocolate
Train to Guryeres).
Gruyeres Village
The village of Gruyeres can get quite crowded in summer season as a very popular tourist spot. The one street is lined with several traditional Swiss restaurants for lunch or Alpine style hotel lodgings. For an entirely different style, just outside the gates of the castle you can find the bizarre bar and museum of Swiss fantacist artist H.R. Giger, best known for his bio-mechanical inspiration of the movie “Alien” (see HR Giger Museum & Bar). The medieval village of Gruyères is car free with parking lots outside the gates. The Gruyères train station is a two minute bus ride or a ten minute walk. © Bargain Travel Europe
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SEE
ALSO:
MAISON CAILLER CHOCOLATE FACTORY TOUR
ST
BERNARD DOG MUSEUM - MARTIGNY
