Lake Geneva and the Chillon Palace

Our last hurrah before heading all the way home to Germany was driving around the beautiful Lake Geneva and stopping for a visit at the Chateau de Chillon.  Before reaching the Chateau, we enjoyed the lake side views of the Alps and stopped to play at an amazing park along the way.  The weather was perfect!
   
The Château de Chillon is an island castle located on the shore of the eastern end of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The oldest parts of the castle have not been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1160 or 1005.   From the mid 12th century, the castle was home to the Counts of Savoy, and it was greatly expanded in the 13th century by Pietro II. The Castle was never taken in a siege, but did change hands through treaties.
It was made popular by Lord Byron, who wrote the poem The Prisoner Of Chillon (1816) about François de Bonivard, a Genevois monk and politician who was imprisoned there from 1530 to 1536; Byron also carved his name on a pillar of the dungeon.