Switzerland · Still standing
Aigle Castle
Aigle Castle is a medieval castle in the municipality of Aigle in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The extant stone fortress grew around a medieval donjon and curtain wall and after late-medieval rebuilding served as a Bernese administrative seat; today it houses museums and is open to the public.
First raised
1200
Its prime
1488
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1488
What Aigle Castle looked like in its prime.
Compact, pale-beige stone curtain walls enclose a tightly clustered group of roofs and towers above a foreground of vineyards and with Alpine peaks behind. Several round corner towers rise from the walls, each topped by steep conical orange-brown tiled roofs; the central keep rises higher with multi-tiered, yellowish tiled roofs and a flagstaff. The outer wall shows narrow arrow slits and a crenellated walking parapet; overall the ensemble appears complete and fortified at its prime.
Its story
The story of Aigle Castle.
The Barons of Aigle are first mentioned in 1179, and some time before 1200 they became vassals of the powerful Counts of Savoy. In 1232 Count Thomas of Savoy granted Aigle as a fief to the brothers Jacob and Peter of Saillon — a family apparently closely related to the barons — in exchange for their ancestral castle in the Valais.
In the 14th century the Lords of Compey inherited the Saillon rights and made Aigle their headquarters, likewise as vassals of Savoy. The Burgundian Wars of 1474–1477, which brought the Swiss Confederation into conflict with Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, ended their tenure: after the war the Compey family were unable to recover their title to town or castle.
Bern had the castle rebuilt in 1488 and made it the seat of a provincial governor. In 1804 it was acquired by the community of Aigle, and it served as a cantonal jail until 1976. Today the castle houses museums and is open to the public, listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1488.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Aigle Castle — including 1 interior: inner courtyard (from the gate). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Aigle Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1488 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Aigle Castle.
The families that held Aigle Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Saillon
Granted as a Savoyard fief to Jacob and Peter of Saillon in 1232; held into the 14th century.
Compey
The Lords of Compey inherited the Saillon rights in the 14th century and held Aigle until the Burgundian Wars of 1474–1477.
