Hiking the Habsburger Weg Part 2: From Lenzburg to Brugg

I am currently walking the Habsburg Weg (or the ‘Habsburg path’ in English) in Switzerland. The path owes its name to the Habsburg family. The Habsburg family was one of Europe’s most powerful and influential royal dynasties. At a certain moment, their empire was so large that the sun never set on it. Their rule only ended with the first World War in 1918, when Emperor Charles IV was dethroned.

Funny enough the family stems from Switzerland, the country whose independence in the 13th century started with an uprising against the same Habsburg family.

I started the second part of the Habsburg path from Lenzburg. The weather was ok. I had been able to plan my trip such that I could spend the part where it was raining, on the train.

The first stretch from the railway station to the outskirts of Lenzburg was not very special, with the exception of the castle, and some interesting urban art in an industrial setting.

Just outside Lenzburg, I passed the workshop of a pop-art artist. ‘Art by A’. Very interesting!

The path from Lenzburg to Wildegg was not very special (houses and farmland).

However, after arriving in Wildegg, I admired the beautiful castle which for a long time was owned by the Effinger family. Meanwhile Paddy, my dog, concentrated on drinking from the fountain.

After the Wildegg castle, the path turned into a nice winding path over a mountain ridge.

After about an hour I arrived at Panorama Thalheim, which provided a great view over the river Aare, and the Wildenstein Castle. This castle is marked with the shield of the canton Bern, which ‘owned’ the area of canton Aargau at some point.

After walking for a couple of kilometers over the beautiful ridge path, I saw the Habsburg castle. Beautifully maintained on top of a hill. It was largely converted into a restaurant. I found it hard to imagine that this castle in an unassuming part of Switzerland has been the basis for a truly global empire.