Castle of Yverdon-les-Bains

The Castle of Yverdon-les-Bains, the first military defence known to be built according to the “Savoyard square” design, is a lowland fortress commissioned in 1259 by Pierre de Savoie. Located in the centre of the town of Yverdon-les-Bains, it has undergone many transformations over the centuries.

Officially a national asset since 1798, it was home to the renowned educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and his institute for boys at the beginning of the 19th century. Along with his collaborators, Pestalozzi developed his innovative teaching method in what you could well describe as a “pedagogical laboratory”. The castle was then used to house government-run schools until 1974.

As the home and centrepiece of the extensive Museum of Yverdon and Region since 1915, the castle allows visitors to retrace the history of the town and its surroundings over the past 10,000 years and provides a showcase of the region’s eventful history, which is known well beyond its borders, too.

The castle also features temporary exhibitions of the Swiss Museum of Fashion, the Pestalozzi Documentation and Research Centre, as well as a theatre and several event spaces for rent.