A magical castle with a museum and beautiful garden.

The first impression you get when visiting this castle is how well it’s been restored. The drive up to the castle where you can also park is surrounded by beautiful trees and the view when you walk up to the castle with it’s vineyards is just a preview for what’s to come. The castle is in wonderful shape, the gardens are perfectly manicured and the castle walls look great. The castle is surrounded by a number of buildings that have been added over the past few centuries.

Museum
The castle was founded around 1242 and has a long history that also includes sending troops to support and defend against the Turkish invasion of Vienna in 1683. The museum has been lovingly restored and there are lots of rooms to explore. There’s a wonderful spiral staircase that provides access to all the floors of which there are at least five not including roof. All the rooms are decorated in different styles. You can get a good impression of how well it’s been renovated if you take a look at the pictures below.

Gardens
To enter the castle grounds, there is an entrance fee which give access to the castle grounds, gardens and the museum. There’s a splendid garden that looks up towards the castle and well worth the trip up and down. The castle grounds are well maintained and the view overlooking the region below gives an impression of how important the location once was in the past. You can also see Lenzburg and Wildenstein Veltheim castles in the distance and the river aare below.

I can highly recommend visiting the castle. The kids will enjoy it as well since there are plenty of things to see.

Short history

In the first half of the 13th century, Ministers of the Hapsburgs built a fortress to protect the southwestern corner of its own area, its core area, and to control a strategically important place on the Aare. In 1242 it was mentioned for the first time by a ministerial of the Habsburgs, the Habsburgs and Habsburgs. After its extinction, it reached around 1340 to Johann I. of Hallwyl. Peter von Gryffensee bought the castle of the Hallwyl in 1437 to return the Mannlehen Wildegg 1457 to the city of Bern, since 1415 lending master in the lower Aargau. The fief was about 1462 to the brothers Hans, Hans Heinrich and Hans Thüring of Ballmoos.

Julie von Effinger, the last of her line, died in 1912 without descendants. She left the castle with almost all the equipment and the domain to the Confederation, which handed over the whole estate to the National Museum for administration.

The castle was renovated in 2011 and now belongs to the canton of Aargau.

Visiting

Castle Museum
Open to the public
Open 1st April to the 31st October
is closed on Mondays & Holidays

Gardens
2 Gardens including a Rose garden

Entrence Fee
For museum and gardens

Extras
Bistro, Shop and WC

Parking
Parking along the main road leading to the castle.

Address
Wildegg Castle
Effingerweg 5
5103 Wildegg
Switzerland