Château d'Auvernier: 400 years of history

The château d’Auvernier looms over the banks of the Neuchâtel lake and, since 1603, the family that owns it dominates the social, political and cultural landscape of the region.

The first written document mentioning Auvernier dates back to the beginning of the 11th century. In 1011, Averniacum, its Latin name, appeared in a donation made by Philippe the 3rd, the king of Burgundy, to his wife Irmengarde. In the course of the following centuries, various parchments listed this locality and certified that it already contained vineyards. Following a dispute between the lords of Colombier and Neuchâtel, a ruling in 1346 fixed the limits of the district.

Until the middle of the 16th century, the château's present location was without buildings. The construction of the actual residence, begun by Blaise Junod, a high-ranking local magistrate, was completed in 1559. Testimonies of the period confirm that the large arched cellars were a part of the original architecture. Despite the restorations made over the centuries, the general structure of the buildings has not changed.

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