Arwangen Castle

Arvangen Castle, located in Zurich, canton of Bern, is a national monument of Switzerland. The location of the castle on the southern bank of the Aare River, on the bridge and at the same time on the main transport arteries between the medieval cities, clarifies the purpose of the fortification: it is a customs post that served as the protection of strategically important passages across the river. The time of construction of the castle refers to the period until the XIII century, and in the XIII-XIV centuries the fortress remained in the possession of the Zurich feudal lords.

The architectural solution of the Arvangen Castle shows the features of early Gothic and Baroque. The ring of fortifications-walls looks like a horseshoe. Among the buildings is dominated by a high quadrangular non-residential tower of the XIII century, rising several tens of meters. In the XVII century there is another tower - 32-meter, with a pointed roof and a spire, then during the XVII - XVIII centuries the buildings are rebuilt. The entrance to Arvangen Castle was difficult due to the powerful wall surrounding the buildings, moats, barrage ramparts and a cascade of ponds on the slopes of the mountain.