Kyburg

Kyburg Castle overlooks the Töss south of Winterthur. First mentioned in 1027, the fortress became the centre of the county of Kyburg and the seat of a family that ranked among the most powerful nobles of the Swiss plateau. When the last count died in 1264, Rudolf of Habsburg claimed the inheritance. Imperial regalia were kept at the castle for much of the period between 1273 and 1322.

In 1349 a pogrom claimed the lives of hundreds of Jews at the fortress. Zürich bought the county in 1424 and made the castle the seat of its bailiff, repairing and altering the buildings for their new role. Local people plundered it in 1798, amid the collapse of the old Swiss order. It again served as an administrative seat from 1803 to 1831, when it was sold.