Castle of Vinzel

Privately owned, the castle of Vinzel was used as a boarding school and is listed in the cantonal heritage inventory.

This worthy property has been inhabited and transformed by many nobles over the years. The first documents that mention it, date back to its purchase in 1629 by Jean-François de Watteville. At the time, it was not called a castle, but a "New House". In 1771, Pierre Banquet, a banker in Paris and a citizen of Geneva, bought it for 75,000 francs. He made the "Maison Neuve" a "maison de maître" made up of a winegrower's house, two large vaulted cellars, a cooper's shop, sheds, a hayloft, car sheds, stables, a barn, a wine press, an oven, a dairy, all overlooking an inner courtyard with a fountain, belongings and outbuildings, not to mention the garden, the orchard and the vineyard. In 1832, David-Jacques Lombard bought the house, to which he gave the appellation "Château de Vinzel".

But the most famous owner of the castle is the Schwyzer Franz de Reding, who acquired the castle in 1901 when he already owned the neighbouring La Bâtie. Known as an affable and kind gentleman, he rented the castle's large house to the sisters of Saint-Joseph, who, after work, made it a prosperous boarding school with up to 50 students from 1903 to 1916.

In 1995, the castle of Vinzel was included in the cantonal heritage inventory. It is still in private hands.