Wettingen Abbey

Cloister garden

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/cloister-garden

Admission Museum entrance fee Idyllic garden in the heart of the abbey complex Experience a special monastic atmosphere in the cloister garden of Wettingen Abbey: the idyllic garden with its meadow, yew tree, water basin and path is located within the abbey walls and surrounded by the cloister quadrangle. Throughout the ages, the cloister garden was designed as a spiritual garden with a central solitary tree. In monastic culture, the tree is reminiscent of the forbidden tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. On the other hand, it stands for life, as a symbol of Christ and the cross. Today's cloister garden has been restored to how it was in around 1900. Cloister garden on Wettingen Abbey. Idyllic garden in the heart of the abbey complex.

Wettingen Abbey

Convent garden

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/convent-garden

Admission Free of charge English park, kitchen garden and plane tree avenue Discover secluded spots in the convent garden of Wettingen Abbey and stroll through the historic kitchen garden. A walk through the avenue, with its 200-year-old plane trees, is unforgettable. The convent garden – one of the first landscape gardens in Switzerland – extends from the abbey over three terraces down to the Limmat river. Fruit trees, a vineyard, a vegetable garden and a grotto invite you to stay a while. English park On the top terrace is the landscape garden designed according to the English model. The park is famous for its valuable tree population: some of them date back to the 19th century, when the convent garden was laid out in its present form. Settle down in the shade of these trees and enjoy the view of the kitchen garden and the Limmat river. Baroque kitchen garden The Baroque kitchen garden extends over the middle terrace of the convent garden. Almost forgotten vegetable varieties and ecologically valuable mixed cultures grow here. Today, the vegetables are processed in the refectory of the cantonal school or sold in the abbey shop. The kitchen garden is laid out symmetrically and, in its present form, dates back to the early 19th century. The monks and lay brothers experimented here with the cultivation and propagation of different useful plants. Great importance was attached to gardening back when the teacher training college was here. Avenue of plane trees with grotto Like a fairy tale: there is no other way to describe this dreamy avenue with its plane trees, some of which are 200 years old. The Limmat river flows beneath the mighty treetops. A grotto adds a touch of mysticism to the avenue. Convent garden on Wettingen Abbey. English park, kitchen garden and plane tree avenue.

Wettingen Abbey

Abbot's house

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/abbots-house

Permanent exhibition Admission Entrance free 0 Stately summer residence The stately abbot's house is situated to the south-west of the abbey, near the river Limmat. You can reach it by walking from the north through the front garden, which has been laid out in the traditional style. Built in 1726 by Abbot Alberich Beusch, the abbot's house served as a summer residence for him and his successors and as a place to receive guests. On the upper floor of the abbot's house, you'll find yourself in a charming living and study area, furnished with period pieces. An animated film projected onto the panelled walls transports you back to the time of Abbot Peter Kälin in the mid-18th century. On the south side of the abbot's house, the abbot's garden slopes down towards the Limmat in a series of three terraces. A central flight of steps leads down into the terraces, which feature ornamental flowerbeds and a fountain. The stately abbot's house at Wettingen Abbey served as a summer residence.

Wettingen Abbey

Abbot's garden

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/abbots-garden

Admission Free of charge Stately summer residence of the head of the abbey Stroll through the abbot's garden at Wettingen Abbey, and imagine how the abbot once received his guests here. The garden extends over three terraces. Stone steps, walls, perennial beds and trellises give the "Gnädig-Herren-Garten" (as it is also called in Wettingen sources) a Mediterranean flair. The abbot's garden (or prelate's garden) was moved several times in the history of the abbey. At one time it was even located on the small island in the Limmat, until it was laid out at its present location as the garden of the abbot's house at the beginning of the 18th century. As the summer residence of the head of the abbey, the garden served as a place to receive visitors. Abbot's garden on Wettingen Abbey. Stately summer residence of the head of the abbey.

Wildegg Castle

Living history museum and ancestral portrait gallery

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wildegg-castle/event/living-history-museum-and-ancestral-portrait-gallery

Permanent exhibition Admission Museum entrance fee Former castle residents are waiting to chat with visitors! Wildegg Castle is the castle of talking portraits: in the ancestral portrait gallery and the living history museum, former castle residents are waiting to chat with visitors. They include Julie von Effinger, the last owner of Wildegg Castle, who recounts anecdotes from her everyday life. Throughout the castle, large portraits of the von Effinger family come to life and tell of the past in a lively and entertaining way. An impressive living history museum With its more than 30 beautifully furnished rooms, Wildegg Castle offers a fascinating insight into the lives of the nobility and their servants. The banqueting hall, salon and dining room – complete with tables set for meals – state rooms as well as the kitchens and maids' quarters – as described by Sophie von Erlach-Effinger in the castle chronicle – can all be visited. You can also explore the narrow confines of the servants' rooms under the roof, visit the maid in the entrance hall, or sit on the windowsill like Julie von Effinger and gaze into the magnificent palace garden. Exhibition on Wildegg Castle: Living history museum and ancestral portrait gallery. Former castle residents are waiting to chat with visitors!

Wettingen Abbey

Parlatorium

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/parlatorium

Discussion Lab Admission Museum entrance fee Registration Not required (recommended for schools) Hundreds of questions in one room Built around 1600, the Parlatorium was one of the few rooms in the abbey where speaking was once permitted. Today, Museum Aargau invites visitors here to engage in conversation about faith, power and knowledge – and poses hundreds of questions on these topics. Choose one of them and embark on a journey of discovery through the Parlatorium: through conversation, play, or via interactive text, image and film installations. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with pupils from the Wettingen Cantonal School, which is also based on the monastery peninsula. Their perspectives on the themes of faith, power and knowledge build bridges between this place's past and the present day. At the weekend, school pupils usually welcome visitors to the Parlatorium. They have been trained as hosts for this role. The Parlatorium at Wettingen Abbey was one of the few rooms in the abbey where speaking was once permitted.

Wettingen Abbey

Cloister

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/cloister

Permanent exhibition Admission Museum entrance fee 0 A place of meditation with a significant series of stained-glass windows The well-preserved cloister, with its Romanesque and Gothic tracery, evokes the tranquillity that once characterised life within these walls. Small gravestones of monks buried here are set into the flagstone floor. At the heart of the cloister lies the idyllic cloister garden. The cycle of stained-glass windows in the cloister is particularly valuable. Private donors, friendly abbeys and the Swiss cantons have all donated these significant cabinet windows to Wettingen Abbey. The earliest examples date back to the 13th century. Cloister Chapel with the Wettingen Christ Child Above the altar of the Cloister Chapel hangs the sacred image of the "Wettingen Christ Child". The wooden painting miraculously survived the devastating abbey fire on White Sunday in 1507. The monks saw this as a sign from heaven. The "Christ Child", marked by burn holes, has been venerated ever since. The cloister at Wettingen Abbey: a significant series of stained-glass windows. An exhibition by Museum Aargau.

Vindonissa Legionary Trail

Events

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/legionary-trail/events

Experience the Romans live! Events, public guided tours and family Sundays take place regularly on the Vindonissa Legionary Trail. Calendar of events (in German) Contact +41 (0)848 871 200 Send a message Telephone availability: Tuesday to Friday 9 am - 12 pm / 1 pm - 4:30 pm November to March only in the morning Impressions

Wettingen Abbey

Events

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/events

Experience Wettingen Abbey! Events and public guided tours take place regularly at the abbey. Calendar of events (in German) Contact +41 (0)848 871 200 Send a message Telephone availability: Tuesday to Friday 9 am - 12 pm / 1 pm - 4:30 pm November to March only in the morning

Wildegg Castle

Castle Estate & History

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wildegg-castle/the-castle-estate-history

Wildegg Castle Estate includes all lands and properties outside the castle walls. It comprises numerous buildings to this day including Gasthof Bären and an organic farm. Wildegg Castle Estate has undergone many changes and conversions over the course of the centuries as a result of sales and purchases. In around1770 it achieved its maximum extent of approximately 120 hectares of cropland, meadows, vineyard and commercial premises. From the 18th century onwards the Effinger family sold off parts of the property. Along with the Castle Estate, the Effinger family also held governing rights over the villages of Möriken and Holderbank - including taxation and lower-level legal jurisdiction. The family passed judgement on smaller-scale offences, appointed the priest and was allowed to open commercial enterprises such as inns and mills. Apart from the fishing rights, these governing rights were lost when the French invaded in 1798. After 1912, the Swiss Confederation was able to buy back some of the properties sold by the Effinger family such as Gasthof Bären in Wildegg. Today the estate has a surface area of some 100 hectares and comprises 37 buildings, a vegetable and pleasure garden, an organic farm, grapevines, forestry and fishing rights. In 2011, Wildegg Castle Estate was converted into a foundation of the same name. The foundation is responsible for administering the entire estate. Museum Aargau runs the museum and takes care of the gardens. The aim is to give visitors the opportunity to experience all the facets of a Baroque castle estate in situ. Enquiries and contact +41 (0)848 871 200 schlosswildegg@ag.ch Telephone availability Tuesday to Friday 9 am – 12 midday 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm History Under Habsburg rule Wildegg Castle was built in the first half of the 13th century by order of the Habsburgs. Perched on a ledge with a striking main tower and residential annex, the castle was first mentioned in 1242. It was the seat of a branch of the Habsburg family that belonged to the lower gentry, the stewards of Habsburg and Wildegg. Before 1348 the castle was granted to the Lords of Hallwyl as a fief by the Habsburgs. Thüring I of Hallwyl had the complex elaborately modernised in 1372. More Less 13/14th c. Under Bernese rule When Aargau was conquered in 1415, Wildegg Castle also fell to the Bernese. The Hallwyls sold the castle in 1437. After various changes of owner it was purchased by the City of Bern. In 1483 it was then sold along with all its lands and rights to Kaspar Effinger, a member of the Aargau gentry. More Less From 1415 The Effinger family Wildegg remained in the possession of the Effinger family for eleven generations until 1912. The Effingers belonged to the lower nobility and appeared in the town of Brugg in the 14th century where several of them were mayors. When they purchased Wildegg, the Effingers also acquired Bernese citizenship rights and were among the ruling families of Bern from 1680. The castle virtually burned to the ground in 1552 after being struck by lightning. It was then reconstructed in the Late Gothic style. In around 1700 Bernhard Effinger had the castle converted into a Baroque manor house, with extended gardens replacing the demolished fortification structures. In the 17th century and again in the 19th century the Effingers also owned nearby Wildenstein Castle in Veltheim. However, the last owners in the 19th century preferred to reside in the more comfortable Erlachhaus and at the country house in Wildegg. More Less 1483-1912 Under the ownership of the Swiss Confederation In 1912 the last in the family line, Julie von Effinger, bequeathed Wildegg and most of its furnishings and lands to the Swiss Confederation. Zurich National Museum turned the castle into a residential museum which has been open to the public since 1917. The castle underwent extensive renovation in 1938 and then again from 2007. More Less 1912-2010 Under the ownership of the canton of Aargau Since January 1st 2011 the castle and its estate have belonged to the Wildegg Castle Estate Foundation established by the canton of Aargau. Museum Aargau is responsible for running the museum. More Less Since 2011