Switzerland · Restored
Castle of the counts of Gruyères
The Castle of Gruyères is a medieval hilltop castle in the town of Gruyères, canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, constructed 1270–1282 for the Counts of Gruyères. It later served cantonal officials and in the 19th–20th centuries became a restored museum and cultural site. The castle sits prominently above the surrounding pastures and retains its medieval keep, curtain walls and a large cylindrical tower.
First raised
1270
Its prime
1400
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1400
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a grassy slope above the town, the castle follows a compact square plan of pale grey limestone with a tall rectangular keep and a prominent cylindrical donjon at the southeast corner. Steep red-brown tiled roofs punctured by steep gabled dormers and chimneys cap the ranges. A lower stone enceinte with a row of round-arched openings terraces down the hillside; narrow rectangular windows and small slit openings puncture the thick walls. The ensemble sits above orchards and pasture.
Its story
The story of Castle of the counts of Gruyères.
Built between 1270 and 1282 on the typical square plan of Savoyard fortifications, the castle was the property of the Counts of Gruyères until the bankruptcy of Count Michel in 1554, when his creditors, the cantons of Fribourg and Bern, divided his earldom between them.
From 1555 to 1798 the castle housed the bailiffs and then the prefects sent by Fribourg. In 1849 it was sold to the Bovy and Balland families, who used it as a summer residence, restored it and established an artists' colony there. Its collection includes war booty captured by the Swiss Confederates — Gruyères troops among them — from Charles the Bold at the Battle of Morat in 1476.
The canton of Fribourg repurchased the castle in 1938 and opened it to the public as a museum. Since 1993 a foundation has ensured the conservation and presentation of the building and its art collection; it is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1400.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Castle of the counts of Gruyères — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Castle of the counts of Gruyères with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1400 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Castle of the counts of Gruyères.
The families that held Castle of the counts of Gruyères for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Gruyères
The Counts of Gruyères held the castle from its construction in 1270–1282 until the bankruptcy of Count Michel in 1554.
Bovy
The Bovy family, with the Ballands, bought the castle in 1849, restored it and kept it as a summer residence until the canton of Fribourg repurchased it in 1938.
