Aarburg Castle
| Aarburg Castle | |
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| Festung Aarburg | |
| Aarburg | |
Aarburg Castle and church
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 Aarburg Castle
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| Coordinates | 47°19′17.91″N 7°54′3.36″E / 47.3216417°N 7.9009333°ECoordinates: 47°19′17.91″N 7°54′3.36″E / 47.3216417°N 7.9009333°E |
| Code | CH-AG |
| Height | 405 m above the sea |
| Site information | |
| Condition | In use as Cantonal Youth Home |
| Site history | |
| Built | 12th century, 1659–1673 |
Aarburg Castle (German: Festung Aarburg) is a castle in the municipality of Aarburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is located high above the town Aarburg on a steep, rocky hillside. The castle was built around a medieval castle, which controlled the narrow point on the Aare river and served as the seat of Aarburg Vogt. It is classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Today it houses the Kantonale Jugendheim, for holding and rehabilitating juvenile offenders.
The exact year of construction of the castle is not known. However, it was probably built around 1200 by the Lords of Büron. The building was mentioned at the beginning of the 13th Century, in the possession of the Counts of Frohburg. The Vogtei (a bailiff or vogt was an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice (Blutgericht) over a certain territory, the Vogtei) was created to better control and monitor the important north-south trade route over the Aare River. Together with the Vogt's seat, the high court was also held at the castle. The administration area included the western part of today's District Zofingen, but without the city of Zofingen. In 1299 the Frohburgs sold the castle and the entire Vogtei to the Habsburgs. After about 1330 the Family von Kriech, a lower nobility family in the service of the Habsburgs, lived in the castle.
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