Appenzell Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

The "Schloss" of Appenzell stands at Poststrasse 5, east of the Postplatz, in the heart of the chief town of Appenzell Inner Rhodes. Despite its name, it is a large patrician stone residence, one of the rare buildings of this material dating from the sixteenth century in a village dominated by painted timber houses. The Swiss inventory of cultural property dates its construction to 1561–1563 and attributes it to the physician Anton Löw (or Leu), a supporter of the Reformation. The building is recognisable by its cross-shaped gable, its round stair tower and its loggia with Tuscan columns. The north and east façades are punctuated by horizontal canopies; on the upper floor, late Gothic windows with mullions and stepped sills sit alongside Renaissance details, and copper gargoyles in the form of dragon heads adorn the roof. After Löw's death, the residence changed hands several times before returning to the Sutter family, who still own and live in it (since 1780 according to the federal inventory and the tourist office; sole owner since 1875). It is not open to the public. Adjacent to the Marienengel Convent, built by the Capuchins in the early 1680s, it is among the architectural landmarks of the village centre.