Wildegg Castle

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 und

 
Habsburg Castle

Collection

The Museum Aargau Collection has been assembled from various holdings since 1830. It consists of bequests from Aargau's castles and monasteries, numerous donations, objects acquired from company archi

 
Vindonissa Legionary Trail

Guided tours for groups

An excursion to the Vindonissa Legionary Trail is packed with highlights for groups. Some of the offers can be booked in English on request. Swap your jeans for a Roman tunic and follow the legionarie

 
Wettingen Abbey

Tours for schools

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR VISITS IN 2025 The abbey church is closed in 2025 for restoration, the stained glass windows in the cloister are not accessible The museum is open from 4 April to 2 November 2025 (

 
Museum Aargau

Vindonissa

MUSEUM SITES IN VINDONISSA Vindonissa Legionary Trail The Roman adventure park offers play/theme tours, events, roman overnight stays, guided tours and much more. Vindonissa Museum The Vindonissa Muse

 
Habsburg Castle

Hire rooms for weddings and events

Impressions

 
Wildegg Castle

Hire rooms for weddings and events

Impressions

 
Vindonissa Legionary Trail

Opening hours and entrance fees

Opening hours 1 April to 2 November 2025 Monday* closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9 am – 5 pm Saturday, Sunday, public holidays* 10 am – 6 pm * Open on the following public holidays: Easter

 
Vindonissa Museum

Opening hours and entrance fees

Opening hours Regular opening hours Monday* closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 1 pm – 5 pm Saturday closed Sunday, public holidays* 1 pm – 5 pm For schools and groups : We open on request add

 
Königsfelden Abbey

Opening hours and entrance fees

CLOSED FOR RESTORATION Königsfelden Abbey is currently being restored and will be open again from 11 July 2025 (Friday to Sunday). Guided tours for groups and schools can be booked starting 8 July 202

Gradian
Glasfenster (Glasmalerei) aus dem Mittelalter im Kloster Königsfelden.

Stained glass windows

Late medieval glass painting

Late medieval glass painting

The stained glass windows of Königsfelden bear witness to the outstanding status of the aspiring Habsburgs in the 14th century. Created between 1320 and 1360, they reflect the very highest level of craftsmanship in the Late Middle Ages and depict the religious world of their age.

A place of commemoration for the Habsburg family was created at the scene of King Albrecht I's murder. The stained glass windows of the church of Königsfelden Abbey reflect the very highest level of craftsmanship at the time and contributed to the renown of the monastery as a whole.

Created between 1320 and 1360, the windows are among the most outstanding specimens of European stained glass in the Late Middle Ages.

The window cycle

The chancel windows were donated by family members of the murdered King Albrecht I such as his wife Elisabeth, his daughter Agnes and his sons. Their images are to be found on certain windows.

In spite of some damage on the south side of the chancel, none of the windows has been entirely lost. Königsfelden Abbey thus possesses a virtually complete series of images.

The chancel windows

The image series in the chancel is structured in pairs on opposite sides. On the northern side (left) the windows show scenes from the lives of St. Anna and St. Francis, founder of the Franciscan order. These correspond to the figures on the southern side (right): St. Clare, founder of the Clarists, and next to her St. Nicholas.

These are followed by images of the apostles on opposite sides. The Franciscans were very much oriented towards the apostles as direct witnesses of the life of Jesus. There then follows the pair of windows showing St. Paul and Mary as well as John the Baptist and St. Catherine.

Since it reflects diverse and in some cases shared connections between the founder family and the order, the programme was probably compiled by order theologians and Habsburg scholars.

The apse

The central point and culmination of the chancel is the Passion of Christ – the crucifixion. To the left of this we see Jesus' childhood up to his baptism by John the Baptist. The resurrection and the miracle of Pentecost are shown on the right.

Preservation and restoration

The stained glass windows did not survive such an eventful history unscathed. Various conversions and installations in the nave led to the destruction of the windows there: these showed selected representatives of the House of Habsburg.

The chancel windows were also affected by this. However, they were either renewed according to contemporary practice or replaced with different panes.

Glass painter Richard Nüscheler undertook a thorough renewal of the windows between 1896 and 1900. He reconstructed the windows as best he could based on the original conception.

The extensive restoration and conservation of the chancel windows carried out from 1988 to 2002 followed this reconstruction with a few exceptions.

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