Today, I was able to do a little local exploring. Margaret, Jake and I went to a castle about 1 hour from Bern, in Montreux, the French area of Switzerland. The castle is called the Castle of Chillon, and was and its first construction began in the 11th century. The castle was captured by the Swiss in 1536 and used as a depot, and armoury. The castle sat right on the lake, so there was really no way for intruders to get to the castle.

Here are some pictures of the outside:




Once inside the castle, you follow numbers that show you where to go, and explain about that are of the castle. There were dungeons, and prisons, and rooms for every purpose imaginable. In the prison, Bonivard, Prior of St. Victor's, Geneva was chained for 4 years because he wanted Geneva to be independent. He became famous because of Lord Byron, who wrote his name on one of the pillars in the prison.



Here are some pictures of one of the main rooms.




Here is a picture of one of the bedrooms:




Here is a picture of the Coat of Arms Hall. Every Lord that had lived in the castle from 1536 to 1733 had their Coat of Arms on the wall.





Here is a picture of Jake and I standing next to the canon that was used.



The castle also had some very pretty courtyard areas complete with fountains, and plants.







Well, thats all for now. I have more pictures but plan on going to another castle in Thun this week so I will post again after that.