Chateau de Chillon

Yesterday we had a little dusting of snow in the morning and since the weather report called for snow we were thinking of staying at home (Californians that we are!). However, about 10:00 the sun came out and the snow started to melt so we packed some snacks and jumped in the car! We drove east along Lake Geneva and stopped at Chateau de Chillon. It is a beautiful castle set on a tiny rock island just off the shores of the lake. Majestic Alps surround the tiny castle and we were so blessed to have had a sunny, clear day so that we could see the mountains glisten around us.

 Chillon is the result of centuries of building, renovating, and expanding as it changed ownership. First references to the castle (it wasn't a castle then) are made sometime in the 1100's when it belonged to the counts of Savoy, who also managed the lake routes. They built the main keep and several of the outer protection walls; however, the winter weather kept the counts traveling and when the Bernese came to invade, it was easy to take. The Bernese upgraded its military defense system, but in the end also abandoned it. In the early 1800's the Canton of Vaud claimed control of the castle and used it as a storage facility. It was the Romantic Movement which is credited for bringing this place back to life! Rousseau used the dwelling as a backdrop for his novel, thus inspiring Byron to go on a quest to see all of the places Rousseau talked about. He visited Chillon and became inspired to write a poem, 'The Prisoner of Chillon' based on the detention of a prior named Bonivard, a hold out during the Savoy regime. Here you can see the pillar that Bonivard was chained to during his imprisonment and torture as well as Byron's name carved in another of the pillars.

While this story is what makes Chateau de Chillon famous, it is not all it has to offer. The castle gives us a picturesque glimpse into life during the Middle Ages. I personally, had never seen a real castle before (Medieval Times doesn't count?) so wandering through the rooms gave me an eerie feeling.

Castle life was not comfortable and it was easy, right away, to see why the owners of the dwelling never really fully occupied it. While the surrounding scenery of God's creation is breathtaking, the temperatures in the castle dipped dramatically. So much so that even the ipod audio guides sometimes malfunction because it is too cold!
Here are some glimpses into that life:

The century walk and front wall of the castle. You can see the autoroute bridge in the background. Very ironic.

Surrounding views from the castle keep, 80' in the air

The castle keep, the entrance was that small window 25 feet up accessed by a ladder that was brought inside. The keep is a castles primary and most important defense.

The hallway leading to the room that was used as a prison during the Savoy ownership

The windows are newer (only 100 yo) but rest above the doors that used to lead to the stables

The restorers of the castle have restored this small piece to what the castle would have actually looked like. Apparently most buildings like this had finished, white-washed outer walls during the Middle Ages. The reason they did not do the whole castle like this is because people have come to expect stone castles. Hmmmm Hollywood strikes again!

The castle was stunning, and so very interesting. Even the girls listened intently to our audio tours and were excited to explore each new room. Since Katie has been studying the Middle Ages this year in history, I was grateful for the opportunity to show her a real life castle from the period. Despite the cold temps, I was also grateful to be able to come at this time of year since the gift shop saleswoman told us that Chillon gets 2,000 visitors PER DAY in the summer!

On a funny note, it is difficult to get pictures of all four of us; obviously someone needs to be taking the picture. We asked another tourist to take our family picture in front of the castle for us (He spoke only German) and he was kind enough to oblige....

hahahahaha Oh well, I guess we'll just have to stick with this one....

All in all it was a gorgeous and informative day! We took the lake road back to Chateau Wick to hang out with the pups and make a special Valentine's Day dinner!