History

"Schadau is a man-made pearl set in the diadem of the Alpine landscape and created

by nature in her happiest hours."

Abraham Roth, 1873

• ca.1272 Manor house of the Lords of Strattlingen
• 1348 Passed to the Lords of Bubenberg (held for 5 generations. Adrian von Bubenberg supposedly lived at Schadau for several years during the early days of his marriage). Schadau later passed to the lords of Erlach
• 1713 Damaged due to flooding from the Kander River
• 1738 Rebuilt as a walled country manor. A round tower was constructed on the bank of the Aare
• 1760 Given to the May family in an exchange
• 1837 Sold to Denis Rougemont (1759 - 1839), a Parisian banker and Major of the Federal Bar, and Sophie Pourtalès for CHF110 000. The old manor house was demolished and replaced further inland with the current structure
• 1837-1899 Johann Friedrich Albert of Rougemont, Colonel of the Artillery opened the park to the public on Sundays
• 1908 Alfred Denis Louis Baron Rougemont committed suicide at the age of 23 years old
• 1908 Willed to Henry von Swaine (nephew, 4-years old, later dancer in Mexico) Trustee: Baron Karl Alexander Freiherr von Swaine, father. The Castle was unoccupied during this period
• 1913 Electricity installed
• 1917 Bought by a consortium consisting of Alfred Lanzrein (Frutiger Oberhofen contractors), Uwe Ryser (architect) and Colonel Schüpbach. 35 hectares for CHF 1.15 million. The estate was then divided into lots for villas along the Seestrasse, Marienstarsse and Cäcilienstrasse
• 1925 One tenth (36'108 m2) of the former grounds (60% of today's Schadau Park) bought by the municipality for CHF 380 000 and the castle scheduled for demolition.
• Vote results of June 1925: 1366 Yes, 910 No
• 1925 Swiss art exhibition held inside the castle by the Arts Society. Other cultural exhibitions soon followed. Until 1983, the ground floor housed a non-alcoholic restaurant, first run by A. Gartenmann and later by the Women's Association, and finally by the Schweizerischen Volksdienst
• 1927 Exhibition of the relief "The Bernese Alps from Wetterhorn to the Freiburg Alps" by Simon Engineering in scale 1:10'000
• 1930 The terrace was demolished due to threat of collapse and rebuilt using concrete
• 1956-1958 First renovation of the façade
• 1972 Annual credits given by City Council for full exterior renovation
• By 1980 Other sections of the property bought by the canton and municipality for the former Grammar School building, the Hotel School, a planned hotel and the Vaporama museum
• 1984 The restaurant received its alcohol license
• From 1986 Gourmet restaurant
• 1985 CHF 1.93 million loaned by the City for the installation of heating, ventilation and kitchen renovation
• 1988 Home of the Swiss Gastronomy Museum
• 1996 Renovation completed

More about Schadau Castle:

• The architect was Charles Pierre Dusillion (1816 - 1860) from Paris, the foreman was the Bernese Friedrich Ludwig von Rütte(1829 - 1903) and the creator of the sandstone figures and stairway was the Dutchman Josef Hubert Verbunt (1809 - 1876)
• The castle is built in Romantic Historicism style, modelled after Loire Castles with elements of English Tudor Gothic and Renaissance forms
• The castle was constructed as a single-family residence over a five-year period by 200 permanent masons, stone masons, sculptors and many other specialist crafstmen. The castle has a total of 78 rooms. Approximately half of the rooms were heated using 19 fireplaces and 12 stoves