Coppet Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coppet Castle

The Coppet Castle is a castle in the Vaud village of Coppet in Switzerland . It is a cultural asset of national importance .

history

Coppet and the castle of the same name on the northern slope of the town, with a view of Lake Geneva , were founded around 1280 by Humbert IV von Thoire and Villars and mentioned in writing towards the end of the 13th century (1284 and 1299). In the later Middle Ages several changes of hands took place. In 1536, during the conquest of Vaud by Bern , the castle was besieged. In 1601 it came into the possession of the French General Marshal Lesdiguières , who began to expand the fortress, which had been sacked by the Bernese, but was unable to complete the work. In 1657 Friedrich von Dohna from the noble family of Dohna acquired the property. His master builder Maximilien d'Yvoy turned it into a real castle, with an easily accessible inner courtyard and a classic facade framed by two pavilions . Dohna had to cede this Protestant territory to Louis XIV in 1660 , but his son Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten had enough funds to buy back the barony of Coppet. At the turn of the 18th century he was able to restore the buildings that had fallen into disrepair after the death of his parents, but lived mainly in East Prussia at his Schlobitten Castle . From 1708 he was looking for a buyer and found him in Sigmund von Erlach in 1713 . The castle owes its current appearance to a large extent to Dohna-Schlobitten's immediate heir, the banker Jean-Jacques Hoegger from St. Gallen .

In 1784, Coppet and the castle came into the possession of the finance minister of Louis XVI. , Jacques Necker , who lived a splendid life here. After his death in 1804, the castle fell to his daughter Germaine Necker, better known as Madame de Staël . Under her leadership, the Coppet Group ( Groupe de Coppet ), around 30 outstanding literary and political personalities from all over Europe, including Friedrich Schlegel , August Wilhelm Schlegel and Adelbert von Chamisso , who opposed Napoleon , gathered here .

The castle has been privately owned by the Haussonville family since 1878. It has been managed by a foundation since 2008 and is open to visitors in the summer months.

Birthplace of

literature

Web links

Commons : Schloss Coppet  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 19 ′ 1 "  N , 6 ° 11 ′ 32"  E ; CH1903:  503 998  /  130269