Grandcour Castle: A Renaissance Residence in Switzerland
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Switzerland
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Swiss
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
History
Grandcour Castle is a Renaissance residence in Switzerland, completed in 1738 to replace an earlier castle. Renaissance architecture drew on forms and proportions from classical Greek and Roman buildings.
A castle at Grandcour is recorded from the early tenth century. Successive regional conflicts progressively destroyed it, and by 1600 only one ruined tower remained. The earlier castle had a manor with a keep and four towers, surrounded by a moat.
After the Bernese invasion, Abraham de Sinner acquired the estate in 1736 and chose to build a new residence rather than restore the old castle. The new building was completed in 1738. In 1755, de Sinner’s son sold the estate to Geneva merchant Jean Louis Labat, who lived from 1700 to 1775. Labat was married to Marguerite Faure, and they had four daughters.
The Oulevey family acquired the castle in 1816, and a descendant of the family still owns part of the building. Grandcour Castle is designated a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance. Renovation work began in 2008.
