Wildegg Castle

The Effinger family held Wildegg for eleven generations from 1483 until 1912, when the last of the line left it to the Confederation, and because the household was never cleared the interiors show a continuous domestic accumulation rather than a curated period look - furniture, portraits, textiles and objects that arrived over four centuries and stayed. The terraced kitchen garden below the castle is run as a conservation collection, growing old varieties of vegetable, grain and fruit that commercial agriculture dropped, and produce from it is sold at the gate in season. A vineyard occupies part of the slope. The castle sits on a ridge with the Jura behind and the Aare plain in front; since 2011 it has been run by the canton of Aargau.

What's there

• Eleven generations of one family - the interiors accumulated, not staged.
• A conservation kitchen garden - old vegetable, grain and fruit varieties.
• Produce sold at the gate - the garden's harvest in season.
• A ridge position - the Jura behind, the Aare plain ahead.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Good to know

Closed through winter. It is a real climb up from the station to the ridge. Rooms are shown on a fixed route and are modest in scale. Labelling is in German. The garden is at its best in late summer.

Nearby

Lenzburg castle is east; Hallwyl is south.

Key facts