Weekend with Ira

http://www.chillon.ch/de/

Since our kids were off on their own perspective adventures, Ira and I did some light 
shopping,went to get our Swiss driver's license...quite a process but once received, it's 
forever and to this amazing castle, Chateau de Chillion. So big and so old.  Started around 
the 1100's.  Here is a info below.  

The 19th Century excavations carried out, especially, were led by the archaeologist Albert NEAF prove that the rock of Chillon was already inhabited during the Bronze Age.

The present appearance of the palace is the result of centuries of construction and renovations.

The rocky island on which the castle was built, served not only as a natural protection, but also as a strategic point for controlling the passage between northern and southern Europe.

The castle's history can be divided into three main periods:

• The Savoy period  (12th century to 1536) The first written mention of the castle dates from 1150; It shows that the House of Savoy, the route along the Lake Geneva is already controlled.
• The Bernese period (1536-1798) captured the 1536 Swiss - precisely the Bernese - the canton of Vaud and occupied Chillon. For over 260 years the castle retained its role as a fortress, arsenal and prison.During the Vaudois revolution of 1798 left the Chillon Berner.
• The Vaudois era (since 1798) 1803 the castle was owned by the canton of Vaud and its foundation.The restoration work began in the late 19th Century and continues today.