The Aula Nova is home to a display of chests. The collection, only some of which is on display here at Chillon, consists of 80 pieces. Most of the pieces date from the 17th and 18th centuries, but some date back to the Gothic, or even Roman, era. The other rooms in the castle house various pieces of furniture such as tables, chairs, credenzas and even carved doors.
The Association for the Restoration of Chillon Castle was founded in 1887 with the aim of restoring the monument and creating a museum to illustrate the various periods of Vaud’s history. Ever since, the collection has been enriched by purchases, donations and bequests.
The castle owes some of its most beautiful pieces of furniture to Vevey-born architect, Ernest Burnat (1833-1922). In 1889, as custodian, he defined the furniture acquisition policy. His tour de force was, without a doubt, the purchase of a chest made by Alexandre Mayer, a cabinetmaker from Swabia, and the artist behind several masterpieces in Valais toward the end of the 17th century.
In 1912, the castle architect and first archaeologist for the Canton of Vaud, Albert Naef (1862-1936) had six copies of chests belonging to the Valère Basilica (Sion, Valais) made. It is clear they were meant to furnish the great halls, judging by their 13th-century manufacture date, which coincided with the castle’s first construction phase in around 1260.