Poya Castle (Fribourg)

Built by Francois-Philippe von Lanthen-Heid (died 1713) between 1698 and 1701, Poya Castle and its park stand as a unique ensemble in the Canton of Fribourg, whose international value is known among connoisseurs.

It is exceptional that this patrician house has never been sold in its three centuries of history, which explains its extraordinary state of preservation and the passionate attachment of its owners. The Lord of Cugy, Vesin, Aumont, and Ménières, the builder, then Bailiff of Fribourg, stayed in Paris for about two years, commissioned as ambassador of Louis XV to collect the debts owed by France to the Canton of Fribourg. The pleasure house, built in the countryside, is "one of the first European demonstrations of Neo-Palladianism."

The lady's room, the grand salon, contains one of the largest collections of stucco in Switzerland, of Borrominian origin.

With its grand avenue, its rustic park, and its Neo-Classical garden, La Poya is considered an anthology piece in the history of gardens.

Planned as a summer residence and a reception venue on Poya hill, which offers one of the most beautiful panoramas of Fribourg, this exceptional house in the middle of an agricultural area combines the functions of a suburban villa and a patrician manor house, which was habitable all year round. Its privileged location naturally destined it to serve as a reception venue for guests of excellencies, then for representatives of Swiss societies and government hosts, to whom one could thus offer the view of a city that seems frozen in the Middle Ages.

Aware of their responsibility in the face of such a statement of European culture, its owners strive to maintain this extraordinary heritage and to ensure that the reception venue continues to play its role during official prestige visits.

On its elevated position north of the city, clearly visible from the wooded park grounds, La Poya stands as an eye-catcher. This jewel among manor houses, built by an unknown architect, is considered in Switzerland one of the first and most significant manifestations of the Palladian style. The builder was Francois-Philippe von Lanthen-Heid (1650-1713). He was an influential personality, as the main stages of his political career suggest: Member of the Small Council at 29, Mayor at 35, Bailiff of the Canton of Fribourg, and occasional delegate of the ambassador at the court of Louis XIV. His will mentions the family's assets: besides La Poya, it mentions the castles near Cugy and Montet, a precious residence in the city (at Hauptstrasse 56), mills, an inn, a lot of land, forests, vineyards, water rights and watercourses, quarries, mines, etc.

La Poya Castle (built between 1698 and 1701) corresponds to the type of suburban villa, or villa suburbana, which was shaped by ancient representations, as described by Alberti, architect and theorist of the 15th century. The proximity of the city did not make it worry about its independence. In reality, La Poya was not a true rural area, but rather a summer residence that offered a dream setting for festivities and receptions. A skillful integration of the building into the landscape allowed the castle to realize the ideal that since the Renaissance sought harmony between nature and art. An avenue from the north crosses the large park and leads to the castle. To the south, the facade opens onto a grand staircase; an external staircase descends towards a French ground floor. According to the classical scheme of French castles, the building is inserted between the access avenue and the garden: on the other hand, the organization of the facade disregards classical usage. Thus, the facade on the garden side – reinforced by the portico – seems to be the main facade reserved for reception: but the much more modest entrance is on the north side. The arrangement of the facade to the south manifests a desire for rational clarity and harmony. Doric columns divide the entrance of the portal, to which a staircase leads. On both sides, the annexes, with their high windows, are flanked by pilasters. A frieze with small adjoining windows lies above the facade and spares the transition to the cornice, in the middle of which a powerful curved gable rests. The original coats of arms give way to those of Diesbach von Belleroche and Cardevac, the fifth owners of La Poya in chronological order.

A balustrade masks the roof, and this peculiarity naturally brings us back to France (Louvre or Versailles). But what is it that actually makes us seek a kinship with the works of Andrea Palladio? Undoubtedly, this arises less from the particular forms than from the overall expression. The integrated portal and the way the gable, so to speak, anchors itself in the cornice, can be found, for example, on the facade of the Emo Villa in Fanzolo near Treviso. Nothing contradicts the Palladian style in the large curved gable and the balustrade, which in Italy only has a justification as a terrace. The two rounded constructions symmetrically added on both sides of the castle, as well as the kitchen, are enlargements dating from 1911. The architect at the time, Henry Berchtold von Fischer, created a harmonious alliance between the old and the new. The somewhat cold elegance of the facade corresponds to the salon inside the castle. Its decor, in which white and gold dominate, also gives the feeling of elegant discretion. The stuccoes of great value are presumably the work of an unknown French artist, to whom are also attributed the stucco works executed in the Fribourg manor house at Hauptstrasse 56.