Kyburg Castle
A wonderful countryside community castle.
It’s a picturesque drive up the winding country roads that lead to the small community of Kyburg where the Castle stands overlooking the Töss River. Located some 3 Km south-east of Winterthur, Kyburg is one of the best know castles in the region and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The castle grounds are well managed and you can walk around the outside of the castle walls without paying any entrance fees. Kyburg is more like a village and there are a number of charming homes with beautiful gardens. The view from the tower overlooking the village below is also very picturesque and if you visit in the fall season the colors will be even more beautiful.
Kyburg name
The castle is first mentioned in 1027 under the name of Chuigeburg ("cows-fort"), which name points to an original use as a refuge castle for livestock. The modern spelling Kyburg first occurs in the 1230s (other spellings of the 11th to 13th century include Chiuburch, Cogiburk, Kuiburc, Chuͦweburg, Chyburc, Qwiburg, Kiburc, Chiburg, Kibor, Kyburc, Kiburg) Reference Wikipedia
Castle museum
The castle has been open to the general public since 1865 and is the first castle museum in Switzerland. It was taken over by the canton of Zurich in 1917 and was run as a museum till 1999. Since then the museum is run by the Museum SchlossKyburg Society. The castle is visitor friendly, has plenty of rooms to visit, including an armory, dungeon, courtrooms, castle chapel, shop and small restaurant. The museum is great for kids to explore and discover, with many informative activities, descriptions and explanations of many of the objects, paintings, tools and other items. There are public tours that are posted on the website for people who would like to learn more about the castle.
This castle is great to visit with the children. There are lots of rooms to explore with displays and interactive attractions for the kids to help learn more about castle life. Kyburg village is also very charming and the walk up to the castle is also very pretty.
Short history
The first fortification at this site was likely built in the second half of the 10th century by the counts of Winterthur. The early castle was destroyed in 1028 or 1030 by emperor Conrad II. It was rebuilt and soon became the center of the county of Kyburg which was formed in 1053 as a possession of the counts of Dillingen. In 1079, during the Investiture Controversy, the castle was attacked and partially destroyed by Abbot Ulrich II of St. Gall. By 1096 the counts of Dillingen included count of Kyburg as one of their titles. By 1180, the counts of Kyburg emerged as a cadet line of the Dillingen family.[3] They rose to be the most important noble family in the Swiss plateau beside the Habsburg and the House of Savoy by the 13th century.
After the death of the last count in 1264 Rudolph of Habsburg claimed the inheritance for his family. With one interruption the Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire were kept in the castle between 1273 and 1322.
