Swiss lost places: Castle Brestenberg

Luftaufnahme des Schlosses Brestenberg aus dem Jahr 1947. SRF-SWI

Hotels, castles, train stations and even an entire industrial site: what happens to these places when they are no longer needed? Swiss public television SRFExternal link went on a search for these lost places in Switzerland. Part two of five.

Brestenberg Castle sits majestically on a wooded knoll above Lake Hallwil on the edge of the municipality of Seengen. When the baroque castle complex was still a distinguished hotel, guests could stroll to the private beach in five minutes and take a dip in secluded surroundings. 

SRF-SWI

For 42 years now, the castle has lain dormant, surrounded by bushes and trees, cordoned off from unwanted intruders. Back in the 1980s, no investor was found who was willing to renovate the complex in style and thus dare to make a new start as a glitzy hotel-restaurant. So now the ravages of time are taking their toll within the walls. The unheated hotel rooms are partly dilapidated, the parquet floors are warped because of the damp, and some parts are in danger of collapsing.

Insight into the underground halls of Brestenberg Castle. The former owner Bruno Stefanini wanted to set up a museum here. SRF-SWI

In 1984, the Winterthur-based property owner and art lover Bruno Stefanini acquired the property. The region rejoiced that the once widely esteemed and noble address would finally be restored to its former glory. But it soon became clear that Stefanini primarily had other plans: he planned to build a huge storage facility under this venerable castle for his lavish art collection in the form of the private Winterthur Foundation for Art, Culture and History.

Stefanini collected everything that could be collected. SRF-SWI

After this multi-million dollar construction was ready, he no longer showed any interest in restoring the castle as a hotel complex. Even though the Aargau government repeatedly urged him to keep his promise, nothing happened until his death.

The museum plans fell through and the objects faded away for years. After his death, his daughter now looks after the estate. SRF-SWI

Now the art foundation headed by his daughter, Bettina Stefanini, wants to revive the castle. The idea is to turn it into a new hotel and restaurant and, downstairs in the spacious halls, create a new educational and research centre in the field of “productive nature”. A vision that is currently still somewhat openly formulated as a living utopian workshop, but which should necessarily finance the conversion of the old Brestenberg castle.

Factsheet Brestenberg castle

SRF-SWI

Location: Place: Lake Hallwil, Seengen, canton Aargau
Construction year: 1625
Purpose: Hans Rudolf von Hallwyl built the castle as a country residence for his own use. After several changes of ownership, the doctor Adolf Erismann converted the castle into a spa in 1844. In the 1940s, it became a hotel with a restaurant for upscale events, weddings and other festivities.
Abandoned since: January 1981