Chillon left bare? INCONCEIVABLE! – A castle fit to burst? IMPOSSIBLE!

Chillon Castle’s latest temporary history exhibition will open its doors from 18 September 2025 to 27 April 2026 in partnership with the Musée cantonal d’Cantonal Museum of Archaeology and History. Dissecting / Dressing Chillon offers a whole new perspective on how the castle presents itself to the public and tells its story.

From the 1880s, a love for built heritage spawned a two-fold desire surrounding historic monuments:

– taking an archaeological and scientific approach to excavating sites, to help understand their history.

– using elements that are evocative of the past to help give visitors some historical context.

… and, as you can see from our collections, Chillon was no exception to these two trends!

Poster for the historical exhibition: Dissecting/Dressing Chillon. Object : © Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’ histoire, Lausanne / Photography : Mathieu Bernard-Reymond

When the castle was excavated between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many a medieval treasure was unearthed – perhaps some even older. An impressive number of relics were brought to light and preserved. However, these fragments of history often lacked the substance and volume required to paint the full picture of Chillon beyond a museum display case.

What better solution, then, than to acquire some (supposedly) period furniture and to inject a bit of medieval spirit into the castle? The rooms were positively stuffed with food for the visitors’ imagination. Originals, composite furniture, official replicas, creations cobbled together from different pieces… it was hard to tell the real from the fake, but at least Chillon wasn’t left bare.

From a burgeoning interest in built heritage by way of the vast archaeological campaigns led by Albert Naef and Otto Schmid, to the furnishings of the early 20th century, rounded off with a contemporary layout – this exhibition deciphers the castle, presenting it from all angles.