One of Switzerland’s most visited landmarks, Chateau de Chillon (Chillon Castle) has a checkered history due to its most famous “guest.” Located just south of Montreux, it is easily reachable on the number one bus, which runs every ten minutes, or it is a leisurely 45- minute walk along the lakefront down to the castle.

Magnificently situated jutting out over Lake Geneva, you cross a wooden bridge above the shore waters to enter the round towered fortress. It faces the snow-capped French Alps which rise above the far side of the lake presenting an amazing view, even to a man chained to a pillar for six years. Built in the 13th Century by the House of Savoy, the castle offers a glimpse into the life of the time with period furniture, artwork and stately rooms and passageways. I particularly liked the toilet throne, with its window view and direct deposit drop into the lake.

It is best known as the prison sight for Francois Bonivard, tethered in the dungeon and chained to a pillar from 1530-1536, because he supported the Protestant Reformation.  While living in Montreux, Lord Byron heard the story and it led to his 1816 poem, “The Prisoner of Chillon,” which became a symbol for the Romantic Movement. Mary Shelly, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Alexandre Dumas also wrote about it, painters William Turner and Gustave Courbet captured its walls in oils. Supposedly Byron went so far as to carve his initials into the pillar that chained Bonivard and it is preserved to this day behind a plaque. This may be true or it may be a marketing ploy, it’s hard to verify initials.

Mark Twain wasn’t so easily moved as the Romantics. Looking across the lake and at the surrounding castle he remarked that Bonivard “didn’t have it half bad.” In the summer it can be painful to visit the Castle with the long lines of visitors filing one by one through the entrails. Try to go on off hours before the tour buses pull up, and be sure to buy a bottle of the estate wine. It’s delicious, reasonably priced and proceeds go to the upkeep of the Castle.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 8:43 am and is filed under Switzerland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.