The Baroque castle was built in 1682–86[2] as the summer home for Schultheiss Johann Viktor von Besenval (1638–1713) and his wife Maria Margaritha von Sury (1649–1713).[3]
His son, Johann Viktor II (1671–1736) was a diplomat and an officer in the French Swiss Guards. After he inherited the castle he had it renovated (1729–34), adding a theater and the chapel of St. Michael, and decorated in the current French style. He brought numerous works of art back with him from France.
Johann Viktor II's son, Baron Peter Viktor von Besenval was born at the castle. However, he lived most of his life in France, where he bought in 1767 the Hôtel Chanac de Pompaodur and made it his residence in Paris. He did, however, add an orangery to the castle in 1780. The French Revolution of 1789 was disastrous to the family's influence, business interests and wealth. While they were able to escape to Switzerland, their close ties to the old nobility made them unwelcome in France. When the Besenval family died out, the castle was abandoned until it was purchased by Joseph von Sury von Besenval in 1865. The new owner added two apartments and changed the Baroque garden into an English garden.[3]
In 1963 the castle was transferred to the Waldegg Castle Foundation and in 1975 it became the headquarters of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, an organization that fosters understanding between the different languages and cultures of Switzerland. Beginning in 1985 it was extensively renovated and repaired, a project that lasted twenty years. The castle museum opened in 1991.[2]
Castle siteedit
Waldegg CastleWaldegg castle between 1700–1770
The castle was built in the local Turmlihaus style, but incorporating elements of the French and Italian Baroque. The central building features three large towers and is flanked by symmetric, two story tall galleries with corner turrets. Niches in the galleries house allegorical statues which were carved in 1683 by Johann Peter Frölicher. The eastern turret houses the castle chapel with a high-Baroque altar from 1720. The second chapel has reproductions of St. Michael by Raphael and St Raphael by Domenico Fetti, the originals of which both hang in the Louvre. The main hall has ten allegorical paintings of the Arts and Sciences and is decorated with supraporte and trompe-l'œil illusions. The eastern salon has a grisaille style ceiling painting while the west salon and billiard rooms both have trompe-l'œil illusions painted on the ceiling.[4]
^ ab"Soleure Solothurn : Le château Waldegg Schloss Waldegg". www.swisscastles.ch. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
^"Schloss Waldegg". Federal Office of Civil Protection. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
January 01, 1970
waldegg, castle, castle, near, solothurn, municipality, feldbrunnen, niklaus, canton, solothurn, switzerland, swiss, heritage, site, national, significance, native, name, schloss, waldegglocationfeldbrunnen, niklauscoordinates47, 223378, 54842, 223378, 54842bu. Waldegg Castle is a castle near Solothurn but in the municipality of Feldbrunnen St Niklaus of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance 1 Waldegg CastleNative name Schloss WaldeggLocationFeldbrunnen St NiklausCoordinates47 13 24 N 7 32 54 E 47 223378 N 7 54842 E 47 223378 7 54842Built1682 86Built forJohann Viktor BesenvalSwiss Cultural Property of National SignificanceLocation of Waldegg Castle in SwitzerlandShow map of SwitzerlandWaldegg Castle Canton of Solothurn Show map of Canton of Solothurn Contents 1 History 2 Castle site 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory editThe Baroque castle was built in 1682 86 2 as the summer home for Schultheiss Johann Viktor von Besenval 1638 1713 and his wife Maria Margaritha von Sury 1649 1713 3 His son Johann Viktor II 1671 1736 was a diplomat and an officer in the French Swiss Guards After he inherited the castle he had it renovated 1729 34 adding a theater and the chapel of St Michael and decorated in the current French style He brought numerous works of art back with him from France Johann Viktor II s son Baron Peter Viktor von Besenval was born at the castle However he lived most of his life in France where he bought in 1767 the Hotel Chanac de Pompaodur and made it his residence in Paris He did however add an orangery to the castle in 1780 The French Revolution of 1789 was disastrous to the family s influence business interests and wealth While they were able to escape to Switzerland their close ties to the old nobility made them unwelcome in France When the Besenval family died out the castle was abandoned until it was purchased by Joseph von Sury von Besenval in 1865 The new owner added two apartments and changed the Baroque garden into an English garden 3 In 1963 the castle was transferred to the Waldegg Castle Foundation and in 1975 it became the headquarters of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue an organization that fosters understanding between the different languages and cultures of Switzerland Beginning in 1985 it was extensively renovated and repaired a project that lasted twenty years The castle museum opened in 1991 2 Castle site edit nbsp Waldegg Castle nbsp Waldegg castle between 1700 1770 The castle was built in the local Turmlihaus style but incorporating elements of the French and Italian Baroque The central building features three large towers and is flanked by symmetric two story tall galleries with corner turrets Niches in the galleries house allegorical statues which were carved in 1683 by Johann Peter Frolicher The eastern turret houses the castle chapel with a high Baroque altar from 1720 The second chapel has reproductions of St Michael by Raphael and St Raphael by Domenico Fetti the originals of which both hang in the Louvre The main hall has ten allegorical paintings of the Arts and Sciences and is decorated with supraporte and trompe l œil illusions The eastern salon has a grisaille style ceiling painting while the west salon and billiard rooms both have trompe l œil illusions painted on the ceiling 4 See also editList of castles in SwitzerlandReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waldegg Castle Kantonsliste A Objekte GR KGS Inventar in German Federal Office of Civil Protection 2009 Retrieved 27 February 2017 a b Waldegg in German French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland a b Soleure Solothurn Le chateau Waldegg Schloss Waldegg www swisscastles ch Retrieved 27 February 2017 Schloss Waldegg Federal Office of Civil Protection Retrieved 27 February 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Waldegg Castle amp oldid 1151145264, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
