The story of this place
Perched above the green pastures of the Fribourg pre-Alps, the Château de Gruyères was the seat of the Counts of Gruyère for nineteen generations, from the 13th century until 1554 when the last count, Michel, went bankrupt and the lands were divided between Fribourg and Bern. The medieval fortress, largely built after 1270, later passed to the artistic Bovy family who filled it with Romantic murals. The surrounding region gave its name to Gruyère, one of the world's most celebrated cheeses, still produced in the valley below. Nearby stands a surreal museum devoted to 'Alien' designer H.R. Giger.