Prangins Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Prangins Prangins () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Nyon (district), Nyon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Prangins is first mentioned around 1135-85 a ...

of the

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. It is home to one part of the

Swiss National Museum The Swiss National Museum () is a museum in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, adjacent to Central Station and the '' Platzspitz'' park. It is part of the ''Musée Suisse Group'', which is itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture ...

. There are other parts are in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

. At Prangins, the displays focus mainly on daily life in the castle and the region. There are also displays relating to Swiss history, as well as temporary exhibitions and cultural events. There is a café, serving drinks, snacks and lunch. The terrace has views of

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

and the Alps.

History

Prangins Castle has been a seat of power for centuries. The first record of the domain is from 1096. The current building dates from 1732, and has been extensively restored and furnished in the original style. The gardens are particularly unusual as they include an extensive sunken kitchen garden which has been replanted to match its original 18th century organisation.

Before 1730

An earlier building on the site was destroyed in 1293 by the

Dukes of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

. It was rebuilt and changed hands repeatedly over the coming centuries. Nicholas de Diesbach enlarged the property in 1613. His family ceded the property to Emilie de Nassau in 1627. The demesne was sold in 1656. It was sold again in 1719, this time to Jean Rieu, a Genevan citizen and a Paris banker. Four years later, in 1723, he passed it on to another Paris banker, . Guiger, who was originally from the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

St Gallen St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and rep ...

, built the palace you see today. The building on the site was probably close to a ruin.

Voltaire and Napoleon

The castle was inherited by Guiger's nephew, Jean-George. He gave

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, who was then exiled from France, the use of the property. In 1755 came to live at Prangins. He commissioned the temple and improved the gardens. After his death, Prangins passed to his son, . Starting in 1771, Louis-François kept a journal detailing the daily life of the region. Over the following 15 years, he filled 7 volumes. His writings form a key part of the current museum offering. His son and heir, Charles-Jules, became a general in the

Swiss army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

. In 1814, he sold the castle to

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, the elder brother of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. From 1873 to 1920, the castle was used as a school by the ''Frères Moraves'', a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

monastic order.

From home to museum

In 1920, Horace de Pourtalès, then working at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

in Geneva. In 1929, Josephine Dexter bought Prangins for her daughter,

Katharine McCormick Katharine Dexter McCormick (August 27, 1875 – December 28, 1967) was a U.S. suffragist, philanthropist and, after her husband's death, heir to a substantial part of the McCormick family fortune. She funded most of the research necessary to de ...

. In 1962, the castle was passed to the government of the US. It was intended to be the residence of their ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Instead, in 1970, it was sold to Bernard Cornfeld, administrator of IOS (Investment Overseas Services). At around this time, the

wanted to transfer part of its collection to a suitable location in the French-speaking region of Switzerland. Prangins Castle seemed ideal. The Swiss federal government balked at the sale price, then CHF 2.5 million. The property was purchased by the cantonal governments of Vaud and Geneva on 19 July 1974. A year later, it was given to the federal government to become a Swiss National Museum. A great deal of renovation work was required, and the museum opened in 1998.

References

External links