Lenzburg

According to the founding legend of Lenzburg Castle, a fearsome dragon terrorized local peasants from a cave beneath the hilltop. Two noble brothers, Ritter Bertram and Ritter Guntram, confronted and slew the dragon, earning the title of Counts of Lenzburg and permission to build their fortress on the Drachenfelsen (dragon rock). A partially gilded dragon sculpture on the north gable of the Landvogtei building commemorates this legend, first documented in 1594. Today the castle's Dragon Research Station features Fauchi, a beloved dragon hatchling said to have emerged from an egg the mother dragon laid in her final moments.

American industrialist James W. Ellsworth acquired Schloss Lenzburg in 1911 and bequeathed it to his son Lincoln Ellsworth in 1925. Lincoln was a famous polar explorer who accompanied Roald Amundsen on the 1925 North Pole flight attempt. On 23 November 1935, Ellsworth and pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon completed the first trans-Antarctic flight from Dundee Island to the Ross Ice Shelf, discovering the Ellsworth Mountains — Antarctica's highest range. After Lincoln's death in 1951, his widow sold the castle in 1956 for 500,000 francs, returning it to public ownership.

The Sod Maid (Sodmaitli) is a ghost who appears each year on Corpus Christi Eve at Lenzburg Castle. A grieving woman in a trailing gown, clutching a pale child, wanders through the castle gardens toward the ancient sod well. At midnight she drops the child into the watery depths. The legend says the tragedy was born of forbidden love. She can only be redeemed if a pure maiden catches her tears in a jug before they touch the ground, but when one brave girl attempted it, the tears proved impossibly heavy and the jug slipped from her grasp.

The Counts of Lenzburg were one of the most important comital families in the Duchy of Swabia during the 11th and 12th centuries. Ulrich IV, the last Count, joined Emperor Lothar III's Italian campaign in 1136/37, fought in the Second Crusade (1147-49) with King Conrad III, and was at the court of Frederick Barbarossa from 1152. When Ulrich IV died without an heir on 5 January 1173, he bequeathed his lands to Emperor Barbarossa, ending the dynasty.

Museum Aargau imagines the dragon mother laid an egg in her final moments, which rolled down the hillside and lay hidden for centuries. After three years, nine months, and five days, a dragon hatchling named Fauchi emerged — today the beloved castle dragon. The Dragon Research Station inside the castle lets young visitors examine dragon artifacts and explore Fauchi's cave. Lenzburg sits at the heart of a castle region encompassing five historic castles: Lenzburg, Hallwyl, Wildegg, Brunegg, and Habsburg.

The Jugendfest is Lenzburg's most cherished tradition, dating back over 400 years to the 16th century. Every two years, the Freischarenmanöver takes place — a tradition since 1852 where costumed troops stage a mock battle against the cadets, suffering a shameful defeat each time. The festival is held on the second Friday in July, beginning at 6:00 AM with cannon fire. In 1415, Lenzburg surrendered to the advancing Bernese army on 20 April — the town was not destroyed and retained its city rights.

Friedrich Wilhelm Wedekind purchased Schloss Lenzburg in 1872 for 90,000 francs after making a fortune during the California Gold Rush. His six children grew up in the castle, among them playwright Frank Wedekind and opera singer Erika Wedekind (1868-1944), who became one of the first celebrated coloratura sopranos in Germany, performing over a thousand times from Moscow to London — though her father had forbidden her from training as a singer, and she only studied music after his death.

A 12th-century bell in the bailiff's courtyard of Lenzburg Castle is said to ring on full moon nights without human intervention. One legend tells of a bone from a murder victim attached to the bell's rope — when the killer pulled it, blood splashed upon him. The castle comprises seven buildings dating from the 12th to early 18th centuries, arranged in a horseshoe pattern around a courtyard, showcasing over 1,000 years of documented history.