Zwingen Castle

Zwingen Castle forms the core of the medieval town of Zwingen in Laufental in the Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft.
The main castle, Zwingen Castle, with its inner castle, chapel and wooden bridge, is a well-preserved building from the Middle Ages. The oldest parts date from the middle of the 13th century and are still worth a visit today, 700 years later.

For a long time, there was an old paper factory, known as "Papiri" for short, directly behind the castle. It used the water of the Birs. Unimaginable from today's perspective, large parts of the castle complex were demolished and rebuilt to expand the factory. The former factory has now been demolished and a huge playground is being planted in its place. The mighty chimney will remain in the middle of the greenery as a visible reminder of the Papiri. The management buildings have been renovated. The rooms are rented out to commercial enterprises. This means that Zwingen Castle will once again have a more spacious environment and will once again be the focus of the Birs landscape.