Switzerland · Still standing
Neu-Habsburg Castle
Neuhabsburg Castle (Schloss Neuhabsburg) is a privately owned Gothic Revival castle on the shore of Lake Lucerne at Meggen, Switzerland, built in 1871 on the site of an older Habsburg stronghold. The present building stands on a wooded rocky promontory above a boathouse and retains a prominent crenellated main tower, ring wall fragments and several attached wings. It remains in private ownership and is visible from the lake.
Its prime
1871
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1871
What Neu-Habsburg Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on a wooded rocky promontory above Lake Lucerne, the 1871 Gothic Revival castle presents a pale ash‑stone façade with a tall square main tower topped by crenellations, a smaller round turret, and a thick ring wall partially encircling the site. The right-hand wing ends in a steep stepped gable with multiple mullioned windows and chimneys; a terrace and low glazed conservatory sit along the inner slope. A small boathouse nestles at the waterline below the trees.
Its story
The story of Neu-Habsburg Castle.
The Habsburg Castle on the Lake, 1244-1245
In 1244 the income from the land at Meggen was granted to the Fraumünster Abbey in Zurich, and in 1244/5 the Habsburg family built a castle on the shore of Lake Lucerne, probably as a replacement for the older Meggenhorn fort. It may have served Rudolf I as a summer residence; its steady work, though, was administrative. From Neuhabsburg the family ran a small department of Habsburg holdings taking in Weggis, Küssnacht, Immensee, Kehrsiten, Greppen, Udligenswil, Arth and Holzhäusern.
The castle was damaged in 1245, following the excommunication of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyon.
An Obstacle to the Confederacy, 1291-1352
After the Old Swiss Confederacy was formed in 1291, the Habsburg castle on the lake shore was an obstacle to the new Confederation, a thorn in its eye. It survived another six decades in that position. Destruction came in 1352, after Lucerne had joined the original Forest Cantons.
The Gothic Revival Rebuild of 1871 and Its Private Owners
Of the medieval castle only portions of the square main tower, a thick ring wall and several further buildings survive. On those ruins a new castle was raised in 1871 in the Gothic Revival style. It has stayed in private hands, latterly those of the Dutch industrialist Ralph Sonnenberg, owner of the Hunter Douglas Group, and it is entered on the list of cultural properties in Meggen as a class B property of regional significance.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1871.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Neu-Habsburg Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Neu-Habsburg Castle.
The families that held Neu-Habsburg Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Habsburg
Built by the Habsburgs in 1244/5 and held as an administrative seat until its destruction in 1352.
Nearby
Landmarks within reach of Neu-Habsburg Castle.
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