Vaumarcus Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Vaumarcus Castle stands on a rocky promontory overlooking the Vaux valley, near the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, in the municipality of La Grande Béroche. Its construction is said to date back to the twelfth century according to the sources consulted; it is first attested in 1285, when the lordship of Vaumarcus – the village and the hamlets of Le Moulin and Vernéaz – was taken back as a fief from the lords of Neuchâtel. In 1308, the castle and its territory were sold to Count Rudolf IV of Neuchâtel, to whom the fitting-out of a Gothic gateway preceded by a drawbridge is attributed. In 1476, Lord John II of Neuchâtel-Vaumarcus sided with Charles the Bold and opened his castle to him; after the Swiss Confederates' victory at Grandson, the castle was burned, and Count Rudolf of Hochberg seized the lordship, which he did not return until 1492. The lordship was raised to a barony in 1595. Rebuilt after the fire, the castle retains a Gothic gateway on the ground floor, two substantial buttresses at the corners of the façade and a hexagonal staircase tower; a new château was built in the garden in 1773. Protected since 1978, the site, with its terraces and gardens, is not open to the public and hosts events, seminars, offices and accommodation.