Tourbillon Castle

Tourbillon Castle (French: Château de Tourbillon) is a castle in Sion in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is situated on a hill and faces the Basilique de Valère, located on the opposite hill. It was built at the end of the 13th century under the direction of Bishop Boniface de Challant. Of a defensive nature and perched on the top of a steep, rocky hill, it served as the residence of the bishops of Sion. The Tourbillon Castle was badly damaged by the conflicts between the bishops and the people of Valais. It was burnt down in 1417 during the Raron affair, a war between the people of Sion and the Raron family. It was rebuilt by Bishop William III of Raron some thirty years later. In 1788 it was completely destroyed by another fire. The stones of the castle were used for some time for construction in the region before the ruins were reinforced in the 19th century to make it a historical monument. The castle is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The castle is protected by nature; very steep terrain surrounds the structure. Accessible only from the east or west, it consists of a courtyard protected by surrounding walls. The castle has a keep, its own chapel and a garrison building. The Tourbillon Castle is located in Switzerland, in the canton of Valais, on the territory of the municipality of Sion. It is located on the Tourbillon hill and rises above the city of Sion. The hill consists of biogenic and clastic sedimentary rocks based on marly phyllites and calcareous shales. The top of the hill forms a natural plateau with an average length of and a maximum width of . The castle rests on the western part of the plateau, and its keep, in the center of the plateau, is located on a small rocky mound. The first known mention of the name "Tourbillon" dates back to 1268 in the form of "Turbillon". Its origin is not known, but there are two hypotheses proposed by the archaeologist François-Olivier Dubuis in 1960.