Chillon Castle, Water castle in Veytaux, Switzerland
Chillon Castle is a medieval island castle on Lake Geneva at Veytaux, Switzerland, built on a steep-sided oval limestone rock about ten metres from the shore. It measures 110 metres long and 50 metres wide. A tall square tower with a steep pyramidal roof and a green flag rises on the left; clustered buildings with dark roofs, dormer windows and chimneys stand to its right, and rows of small square windows dot the pale beige walls.
A square donjon was built on the island in the 11th century to control the road to the Great Saint Bernard Pass; a 1150 charter of Count Humbert III shows the castle under Savoy authority. Count Peter II expanded it in 1248 and 1266–7. A Bernese army captured it in 1536 and freed the prisoners, among them François de Bonivard, held since 1530. In 1798 Vaud took it over and the French used it as a weapons depot.
The fortress takes its name from a rock jutting into the lake where it was built, a feature locals called Chillon. Visitors today walk through great halls decorated with medieval murals and furniture that show how nobles and soldiers lived and worked here.
The castle is open to visitors daily from spring through fall, with hours that vary by season. The site includes several floors with steep stairs and narrow passages, so sturdy footwear is advisable.
The name Chillon comes from a local dialect word for a flat stone slab, recorded in Latin as Castrum Quilonis in 1195. The castle measures 110 metres long and 50 metres wide, and its oval limestone island lies about ten metres from the shore.
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