Summer of 2012 - Lenzburg, Switzerland

Just down the road from my ancestral town of Othmarsingen is the small city of Lenzburg.  I am surprised that it is not listed in any tourist guides that I have seen on Switzerland, because it is a very picturesque and interesting place.  Lenzburg has a population of over 8,000 and is the principal city of the district.  It dates back to the tenth century, and before that there were Roman settlements in the area.

The most important historic monument in the city is Lenzburg Castle, perched on a hill overlooking the city.  It was first built in 1036, and is one of the oldest and most important castles in the country.  It was expanded throughout the centuries.  In the 1200's it became a seat of the Hapsburg family, and later the center of the officials from Bern.  In the late 1800's it was purchased by a wealthy American for his wife, and extensive restoration of the castle was undertaken.  Today the castle is an interesting museum.

 

 

 

At the foot of the castle hill is the small but well preserved "Old Town" of Lenzburg which includes the church which was built in 1667.  It was a Sunday afternoon.  The businesses were closed, and I had the quaint neighborhood almost to myself.