Schloss Burgdorf

Burgdorf, Switzerland, Switzerland

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Schloss Burgdorf is an 800-year-old landmark in Burgdorf, Switzerland, built around 1200 by Duke Berthold V of Zähringen using distinctive red bricks on a sandstone mound by the Emme River, making it the best-preserved Zähringen castle complex in the country.

Originally a noble residence, it passed to the Kyburg family after 1218, who expanded it until losing the Burgdorf War in 1383, after which Bern took control and used it as an administrative center with a bailiff, court, and prison for centuries.

Notable later uses include educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi running a school there from 1800 to 1804, followed by cantonal offices until 2012, when it transformed into a cultural hub housing museums like the Swiss Gold Museum and ethnology exhibits, a restaurant, and a youth hostel.