Laufen Castle, Medieval castle at Rhine Falls, Switzerland
Laufen Castle is a complex on a sheer rock above the Rhine Falls. Its left wing has a white stepped gable and three brown doors; to the right a lower white building with red tiles and red-and-white striped shutters adjoins a tall grey tower beside a rectangular viewing platform over the cliff.
The castle first appeared in written records in 858 when it served as the home of the Barons of Laufen. Zurich took control of it in 1544 and has maintained it since then.
The castle holds an exhibition showing how the region developed over more than a thousand years through objects and displays. The collection tells the story of people who lived and worked in this area.
A glass panoramic elevator and accessible pathways make it easy for anyone to explore the building. The nearby Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall train station provides direct access to the grounds.
The Rheinfall railway line runs through a tunnel beneath the castle, and trains stop at Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall station just south of it, below the walls. A walkway and an elevator connect the station to the castle. PostAuto bus line 634 also links Schaffhausen station with the castle.
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