Château d'Ouchy - Lausanne

Château d'Ouchy is located on Place du Port in Lausanne, Switzerland.  The structure dates back to 1177 when Bishop Landri de Durnes built the original tower which still stands at the center of the complex.  Fortifications were added over a century later to accomodate a safehouse for the bishops of Lausanne.  Over time the castle fell into the hands of the Bernese bailiffs and then the State of Vaud.  By 1884 the old fortifications were in ruins, with only the tower stil lstanding.  That same year businessman Jean-Jacques Mercier acquired the property.  He had made his name in the family tanning business, and later as a landowner and a leader in the urban development of Lausanne.  He razed all of the exisitng structures, except for the main tower, and hired architect Francis Isoz, who, between 1889 and 1893, transformed the crumbling fortress into the neo-gothic castle it is today.  The castle is now known as Château d'Ouchy Hotel.

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