Freudenau Castle

What remains of the castle complex are the wall remnants of a walled residential tower. Besides the leaning tower, which was partially blown up in 1853, remnants of residential and economic buildings as well as the surrounding wall can still be seen.

Around 1240, a bridge over the Aare was built in Freudenau, and Freudenau Castle was erected for its protection. Numerous country roads converged at the bridge, which could be crossed here with just one bridge, shortly after the confluence of the Limmat, Reuss, and Aare. The ancient waterways from Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich to Basel also passed by Freudenau. The many cellar rooms of the castle suggest that this was a transshipment point from river to land transport.

As early as after 1300, Freudenau began its decline, as the bridge was replaced by a ferry a little further upstream.

A large part of the complex was destroyed on December 25, 1351, one day before the Battle of Dättwil, during a military campaign by the people of Zurich. Further parts fell victim to a large fire shortly after 1400; the remaining buildings were abandoned and fell into disrepair over the centuries.