Hilfikon Castle

The first documented mention of Hilfikon Castle appears between 1303 and 1307 in the Habsburg Urbar. As early as 1290, Arnoldus and Marchwardus von Hilfikon were known as owners of the castle and its associated dominion. The Lords of Hilfikon served the Habsburgs as ministeriales. After the conquest of Aargau by the Confederates in 1415, the right to bestow the lordship of Hilfikon passed to the mayor of Zurich. In 1472, the Meiss family from Zurich was named as owners, followed by Hans von Seengen in 1498. Between 1506 and 1510, Melchior zur Gilgen, a knight from Lucerne, acquired the castle and united it with the bailiwick of Sarmenstorf in 1514. Negotiations by the Confederate cantons in 1547 to acquire the castle as a residence for the bailiff failed due to the purchase price. In 1628, Aurelian zur Gilgen sold the castle lordship to Johann Lussi. The brothers Sebastian and Johann Zwyer von Evibach acquired the property in 1644 and had the fortress converted into a castle. In 1712, Hilfikon Castle served as the headquarters for the general staff of the Catholic cantons before the Battle of the Second Villmergen War. After further changes of ownership, including the von Roll family, the castle was sold in 1832 to finance the expansion of ironworks. Numerous ownership changes followed, along with the gradual sale of the surrounding lands, until Ludwig Michalski acquired the castle in 1879. In 1907, it passed to aviation pioneer Hermann Nabholz, who, however, had to leave in 1939. From 1944 to 1945, the castle served as a vocational school for refugees. After a period of vacancy, it was purchased and renovated by Louise Schellenberg in 1961.

Hilfikon Castle is located at an elevation of approximately 503 meters above sea level in the municipality of Hilfikon, which belongs to the Bremgarten district in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It is situated on a hill spur on the southern edge of the village.

Hilfikon Castle is currently privately owned and is only rarely accessible to the public. From the medieval fortress, the keep, the round towers to the east and south, and remnants of the curtain wall are still preserved. The current castle chapel, with its Rococo interior, dates from 1750.

• Brestenberg Castle (Castle), approx. 3.2 km away
• Hallwyl Castle (Castle), approx. 4.1 km away
• Gofischlössli (Castle), approx. 7.5 km away
• Bremgarten Castle (Castle), approx. 7.7 km away