Reopening of Grandson Castle, in Switzerland, 550 years after its battle
Château de Grandson: 550 years after Charles the Bold’s defeat, the castle reopens after 15 years of restoration
The Vaudois castle where a Bernese garrison was executed before the famous 1476 battle has reopened to the public on 2 April 2026—the anniversary of the Duke of Burgundy’s defeat by the Swiss Confederates—following a nearly fifteen-year restoration.
Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux ·
On 2 March 2026, the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Grandson, a public inauguration marked the completion of a restoration project spanning nearly fifteen years at this castle in the canton of Vaud, a Swiss cultural asset of national significance. The site opened to the public on 2 April, with hours gradually extended until daily opening (except Tuesdays) from 3 June 2026.
01
A garrison hanged or drowned, prologue to a famous battle
The castle owes its fame to a particularly dark episode in the Burgundian Wars. On 2 February 1476, Charles the Bold besieged the small fortress of Grandson, then held by a Bernese garrison of 412 soldiers. Under pressure from Burgundian artillery, the garrison surrendered on 28 February. Rather than spare the defeated as was customary at the time, the Duke of Burgundy ordered the soldiers to be hanged from the surrounding trees or drowned in Lake Neuchâtel. This brutal execution sparked an immediate mobilisation of the Swiss Confederates, who were determined to avenge their compatriots.
02
Swiss pikes halt Burgundian cavalry
By 2 March—just two days after the castle’s fall—18,000 Swiss soldiers faced some 20,000 Burgundians near Concise, not far from Grandson. Their six-metre pikes, arranged in compact squares using a tried-and-tested tactic, brought Charles the Bold’s heavy cavalry to a standstill. After three hours of fighting, tactical confusion within the Burgundian ranks, combined with the arrival of Swiss reinforcements, led to a complete rout of the ducal army. The Swiss seized a considerable haul: 400 pieces of artillery and even the duke’s personal jewels. This first defeat marked a decisive turning point for Charles the Bold, who would meet his end the following year, in 1477, at the Battle of Nancy.
03
Fifteen years of work, a new immersive tour of 15 rooms
The restoration completed in 2026, carried out over nearly fifteen years with the involvement of more than a hundred different companies, has renewed the entire timber framework and paintings of the monument. The castle reopens with a completely reimagined museum space: fifteen permanent exhibition rooms spread across three floors, a Hall of Knights, and an immersive exhibition titled *Grandson, 1,000 Years of History*. A sensory trail has also been designed for young visitors aged 2 to 8, alongside new accessibility improvements for people with reduced mobility, making this historically rich site one of the most accessible castle museums in French-speaking Switzerland.
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