Mestral Castle

The Castle of Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges, also called Mestral Castle, is a castle in the municipality of Echichens of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[1]

Mestral Castle
Château de Mestral
Château de Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges
Échichens
Schloss Saint-Saphorin
Mestral Castle
Mestral Castle
Coordinates46°32′43.14″N 6°29′14.80″E
CodeCH-VD
Height526 m above the sea
Site information
Conditionpreserved
Site history
Built17th century

History

The current castle was built on the ruins of an old feudal castle which consisted of two buildings divided by a courtyard: one of them served as a dungeon while the other was used as housing for the local lord.[2]

In 1727, General François-Louis de Pesmes de Saint-Saphorin, after a career as a soldier and a diplomat, retired to Saint-Saphorin where he was born. Previously, he had the castle rebuilt, which already belonged to his family, on the model of that of Vullierens. His daughter, Judith-Louise, married Gabriel-Henri de Mestral, then Lord of Pampigny.[3][4]

The castle took the name of Mestral, and among the successive owners, the engineer Georges de Mestral, inventor of Velcro, inherited it on the death of his father in 1966.

Viticulture

The castle is classified as cultural property of national importance.[3] It is surrounded by a 4.6 hectare wine estate where the Grand Cru Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges AOC La Côte is produced.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance". A-Objects. Federal Office for Cultural Protection (BABS). 1 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  2. Ric Berger (1957). Historic monuments in and around Morges. Éditions Cabédita. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-2-88295-035-2.
  3. "St-Saphorin-sur-Morges". echichens.ch. 11 July 2012.
  4. "The inventory published by the Swiss Confederation, for the Canton of Vaud" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2020-01-30.


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