Kyburg, Zürich
THE LOWDOWN
Kyburg is one of the largest surviving medieval castle complexes in the whole of Switzerland, and it comes with a brilliantly unglamorous name to match its humble start: first recorded in 1027 as ‘Chuigeburg’, which translates, roughly, to ‘Cow Castle’. Not exactly the stuff of legend, but it didn’t stay modest for long.
ROUND THE CASTLE
By marrying into the right family, Hartmann von Dillingen got his hands on the place, declared himself Count of Kyburg, and turned the family into one of the three biggest noble powers in the region, right up there with the Habsburgs and the House of Savoy. When the last Count of Kyburg died without an heir in 1264, Rudolf of Habsburg swooped in and claimed the whole inheritance — and for a while, between 1273 and 1322, the actual Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire were reportedly kept safe inside the castle’s chapel. That’s crowns-and-sceptres-level important. It’s important, too, to note that this castle carries real weight in the history books: in 1349, during a wave of persecution sweeping medieval Europe, 330 Jewish people were killed within its walls, one of the deadliest such tragedies recorded in Swiss history, and it’s part of the site’s story that deserves to be remembered properly, not glossed over.
THE LITTLE TITBIT
On a lighter historical note: in early 2024, conservators working on the castle’s collection uncovered a stunningly well-preserved suit of medieval armour, including a roughly 600-year-old gauntlet, that had been sitting there quietly for centuries without anyone quite realising how special it was. Even after a thousand years, this place still has surprises hiding in its cupboards.
Legend has it that a little green dragon once found his way into Kyburg Castle and decided it was far too comfortable to leave. Rather than terrorising knights or breathing fire from the battlements, he found himself a quiet hiding place beneath the castle floor. And there he remains today — if you know where to look. Peer carefully through the glass into the darkness below and you may spot him staring back at you, a small reminder that every proper medieval castle deserves at least one dragon.
