![]() The placement of the castle is strategic: it guards the passage between the Vaud Riviera, which allows access to the north towards Germany and France, and the Rhone valley, a quick route to Italy, and offers a viewpoint over the Savoyard coast on the opposite side of the lake. The castle of Chillon is built on the island of Chillon, an oval limestone rock advancing in Lake Geneva between Montreux and Villeneuve with a steep side on one side and on the other side the lake and its steep bottom. The name Castrum Quilonis, attested from 1195, would, therefore, mean "castle built on a rock platform. The Fort de Chillon, its modern counterpart, is hidden in the steep side of the mountain.Īccording to the Swiss ethnologist Albert Samuel Gatschet, the name Chillon derives from the Waldensian dialect and means "flat stone, slab, platform". Successively occupied by the House of Savoy, then by the Bernese from 1536 until 1798, it now belongs to the State of Vaud and is classified as a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance. Chillon is amongst the most visited medieval castles in Switzerland and Europe. It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives access to the Alpine valley of the Rhône. Location in Switzerland Show map of SwitzerlandĤ6☂4′51″N 6★5′39″E / 46.4142028°N 6.9275531☎ / 46.4142028 6.9275531Ĭhillon Castle ( French: Château de Chillon) is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, south of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud.
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