Biberstein Castle

Biberstein, Switzerland, Switzerland

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Biberstein Castle is a medieval fortress rebuilt over centuries in the municipality of Biberstein, canton of Aargau, Switzerland, originally constructed around 1280 by the Counts of Habsburg-Laufenburg atop a tuff hill above the Aare River.

It served as a Knights Hospitaller commandry after 1335 under Rudolf von Büttikon, passed through conflicts including Bernese occupation in 1415 and the Swabian War, then became a small Bernese vogtei seat until a devastating 1587 fire prompted Gothic reconstruction as a comfortable residence.

Acquired by Aargau canton in 1803, it functioned as a children's home from 1889 and now houses adults with intellectual disabilities since 1987, preserving remnants of its original donjon foundations and 16th-century walls as a Class B cultural heritage site.