Château de Chillon is the most visited historical building in Switzerland
Keystone
Château de Chillon, the most visited historical building in Switzerland, set a new record last year: 432,000 people visited the medieval castle near Montreux on Lake Geneva.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
Español
es
El castillo de Chillon establece récord de visitas
This represents an increase of 7% over 2018, the Chillon Castle FoundationExternal link said on Tuesday. The number of visitors has thus exceeded 400,000 for the third year in a row.
Visitors from Switzerland made up 22% of the total, followed by those from China (15%), the United States (12%), France (6.5%) and South Korea (4%).
Casterly Rock? George R. R. Martin, author of ‘Game of Thrones’, visited the castle in 2014
Keystone
Since 2019, written visitor information at the ticket office has been available in Arabic, Hebrew and Thai. This information is now available in a total of 17 languages. The audio guide is available in nine languages, including Korean since 2019.
In addition, the number of guided tours rose from 2,688 in 2018 to 3,257.
The Chillon Castle Foundation generates over 90% of its income through its own activities, with 65% coming from entrance fees. Only 5% of the income is subsidies for restoration and maintenance work on the building.
Château de Chillon
Located on a narrow road between Lake Geneva and a mountainside, Chillon is a strategic point in the route to Italy. Archaeological finds in the area date back to the Bronze Age.
The first mention of the castle dates back to 1150. Due to its location along the trade route to Italy via the Grand St Bernard Pass, it had a golden age. But that stature progressively declined at the turn of the 14th century, when the Duchy of Savoy’s administrative centre was moved to Chambery.
Under Bernese rule (1536-1798) the castle became a fortress and prison.
It became the property of Canton Vaud in 1803 and was restored at the end of the 19th century, welcoming paying visitors from 1896.
More
More
History
In the footsteps of the real prisoner of Chillon
This content was published on
We’re in the bowels of the medieval castleExternal link in a huge dungeon with vaults and pillars. A rock face makes up one wall, while another is lined with blocks of stone and a few small openings that provide slivers of light. On the other side of the wall is the vast Lake Geneva. But…
Swiss-EU treaties: signatures handed in for Kompass initiative
This content was published on
The committee behind the Compass Initiative submitted the signatures it had collected to the Federal Chancellery on Friday.
This content was published on
Esther Grether has died aged 89. Considered one of Switzerland’s leading entrepreneurs, the owner of the Basel-based Doetsch Grether Group was also a major shareholder in the Swatch Group and an art collector.
This content was published on
The flag of the Swiss Wrestling Federation has been received at the start of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Mollis, canton Glarus.
Figurine heads in Zurich school not considered discriminatory
This content was published on
The 16 carved figurine heads in the auditorium of the Hirschengraben school building in Zurich are not discriminatory, according to an independent expert report.
Swiss political parties report income of CHF22.4 million for 2024
This content was published on
Ten parties reported income totalling CHF22.4 million for 2024, less than in the 2023 election year. The reports are based on the regulations for transparency in political financing.
FIFA loses multi-million lawsuit against Blatter and Kattner
This content was published on
Former FIFA officials Joseph Blatter and Markus Kattner do not have to pay back their own bonuses or the bonus totalling CHF 23 million paid to another FIFA official to FIFA. This was decided by the Zurich Labour Court.
How cancer cells makes healthy cells work for them
This content was published on
Cancer cells manipulate neighbouring cells for their own purposes: a research team at ETH Zurich has discovered that they can reprogram neighbouring cells in such a way that they help the tumour to grow.
This content was published on
The ban on non-residents entering the swimming pool in Porrentruy, canton Jura, expires on Sunday and would be extended until the end of the season, the mayor said.
Natural disasters: most Swiss back forced resettlement
This content was published on
The authorities should be allowed to order forced relocations if there is a medium-term risk of a natural event, according to 58% of participants in a survey.
This content was published on
Two hundred years ago, Lord Byron retreated to Switzerland with fellow Romantics for what would become an exceptionally creative summer.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.