Aigle Castle (Switzerland)

The fortress of Aigle has a rich history dating back to the 12th century. Marked by the Bernese reconstruction of the late 15th century, it is one of the finest surviving examples of medieval castle architecture in French-speaking Switzerland. In full in the vineyards of the small town of Eagle, it houses the Museum of the vine and the WineO mild climate.


Early in the 13th century, the time of the count Thomas of Savoy, the site now occupied by the Aigle Castle is made up of two large towers that can be identified as a large fortified houses. The oldest, dating back to the 12th century, it is located within the castle precincts. E 'state of the Eagle Lords properties. The second was built by Tommaso di Savoia to the current position 'Maison de la dime ".

In the 13th century, the House of Savoy has bought the rights of the Eagle Lords. With an expansionist policy based on alliances, marriages, rights purchases and, of course, a couple of wars, the Savoia reign of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta Italian, the two departments in the French Savoie and now Switzerland, the country of Vaud and Valais.

The strategic idea of ​​the House of Savoy is to create a link road between the towns of fairs of Turin and Lyon by Mont Cenis pass, then, later, from the Great St. Bernard Pass, between the Val of Aosta and Martigny. The village of Eagle is located on a busy street north-south trade. Aigle Castle occupies an important secondary position, control access to different crossings of the Alps in Bern, Fribourg and Bern.