Youth hostels in Switzerland have been around for almost a century. Of the more than 50 youth hostels in existence, 16 have been converted from old historical buildings. One of them, a medieval castle, has become a unique presence.

In 1933, a large number of young people in Switzerland were unemployed. At that time, Eugene Probst, president of the Swiss Society of Ancient Architecture, proposed a solution to the employment of young people by organizing the restoration and renovation of historical monuments for graduates of specialized technical schools. On the one hand, it would solve the problem of employment and provide them with the opportunity to practice their skills; on the other hand, the renovated castle could be used as a place for recreational activities for young people.

Probst's proposal has received a positive response from young Swiss people. At Rothberg Castle in Canton Solothurn and at Ehrenfels castle, Domleschg in Canton Graubünden, 30 young people each took part in the restoration and renovation of the castle. They reopened the paths through the weeds and trees, cleared out the castle, which had been in disrepair for many years and was almost in ruins, then carried wood and stones on their shoulders, repaired the roofs and walls, and built new houses. After nearly two years of hard work, two new castles with simple beds, dining rooms, activity rooms and kitchens have emerged. The young people proudly call them "youth castles".

From the outside, the two renovated castles have a typical medieval feel. Inside, they are also full of ancient atmosphere. They are not very large, and the structure inside is cramped and compact, with a simple style and a medieval atmosphere everywhere, with the typical two-story bunk beds of youth hostels lined up in the dormitories with bare stone walls. The light is a bit dim, which makes it a bit more mysterious. When I went to interview them, it so happened that a Swiss Chinese warrior school was practicing here. Caduff, the manager of the youth hostel in Ehrenfels, and Reto, the master of the martial arts school, took me up a narrow wooden staircase, around a canal from east to west, to the public bathroom and washroom on the upper floor, and to the spacious activity room on the top floor. Everything was very simple, fitting for a hostel rebuilt from the ruins. But inside, there is a full range of places for rest and activities. The large medieval-style dining room and kitchen are filled with ingredients and utensils for cooking by the young people who are doing activities here.

In this youth castle, the customers are the hosts, not the guests. They have to take care of themselves, but also responsible for the management of the environment and order inside. Everything here seems to have the casualness and unconventionality of young people, but everything is well organized. "A castle for young people", what I saw in front of me explained the original intention of Probst's renovation of the old castle. Young people come here in an organized way for a week or two to participate in various activities. They can go to the dormitory to sleep when they are tired, or go to the activity room to sing and dance when they are happy; the serious ones get up at the right time to do their homework and practice; and the quiet ones can always find a quiet corner to put on their headphones and get lost in their music.

The two youth hostels, Ehrenfels and Rotberg, are designed with simplicity and practicality in mind, keeping the medieval castle intact. They are designed to provide young people with a place to relax and reflect away from the hustle and bustle of modern society, the TV, cell phones and the Internet.

However, not all Swiss châteaux are in this style, and the Schloss Burgdorf in Bern, which opened in 2020, is a new kind of château youth hostel with modern design elements and renovation standards. There, the history and culture of an old medieval castle are closely combined with the comforts of modern society. Its renovation was just this year awarded a special prize by the Swiss Association of the World Heritage Federation for an outstanding project of adaptive use of old buildings.

Atelier G&S designed and implemented the design of the renovation of the Schloss Schloss Youth Hostel. Their design was for a "Castel for All". This "Castel for All" has two meanings. First, the castle is open to all. Schloss Castle is a large scale, perched high on top of a hill, is a medieval fortress-style fortress more than 800 years old. It was first used as a residence for nobles, then as a local government office, as well as a court and a prison. It was only in 2020, after two years of renovation work, that the castle opened its doors to the public for the first time, becoming a place for people to relax and hold various celebrations. The second meaning of "all-round" reflects the concept and design of the renovation. The idea was to transform the castle into a popular resort with a youth hotel, museum, restaurant and wedding venue, where visitors, especially students, could be educated about Switzerland's rich history and culture.

Eisele and Hafeli, the directors of the Swiss Youth Hostel, introduced me to the renovation project. Architecturally, the four parts of the Schloss Schloss are interconnected. Behind the front desk of the youth hostel is the restaurant of the castle. With its rustic tables and chairs, a wall with exposed patches of medieval stone stands out, and a barred window with a pointed dome is designed next to the old wall to simulate the prison that once existed here. Outside the black barred window, the green mountain forest looks like a painting. The orange light gives a romantic tone to the food on the table. On another wall is a huge black and white painting of Schloss Schloss from hundreds of years ago, made of porous sound-deadening material to reduce echoes in the spacious dining room.

The front desk of the Youth Hostel faces a spacious lounge. The three-story stepped reading space and the lobby, which consists of several sofas, is both a resting place for lodging travelers and a temporary resting place for visitors to the old castle. At the back of the lounge, you can enter the museum of the fortress. More than 30,000 exhibits donated by local people fill the three floors of the museum. Tourists and children participating in holiday activities can get a vivid insight into centuries of local history and culture here.

The museum leads directly to the guest room section of the youth hostel. The youth hostel has 31 rooms, including standard rooms, family rooms and multi-share rooms typical of youth hostels. The designers took full advantage of the high ceilings of the old fortress by designing unique three-tiered beds with ladders for the shared rooms. The skeleton of the dark coffee-colored compartmentalized wooden bed with the yellowish interior walls creates a very harmonious contrast in color and sets a peaceful and elegant atmosphere.

The most important feature of the design of this hostel is that each room has its own unique name and theme. The room I stayed in was called "Flying". On the ceiling of the room, several open books were hanging down like birds flying on wings; another room called "Cell", the door of which was purposely made short and small, with a large iron lock of the time on it. A room called "The Wheel" has a bicycle used by the Swiss army a hundred years ago; another room called "The Rake" has an iron rake head used by local farmers to rake grass, with the tip of each rake indicating a famous mountain in the area. Each tip of the rake indicates a famous mountain peak that can be seen in the area.

Some of the rooms have wallpaper designed to resemble the museum's stained-glass windows and some of the special exhibits, thus providing a link between the hotel and the museum. These quirky and innovative designs not only introduce guests to the history and culture of the area in different ways, but also greatly increase the interest of guests in exploring the castle. People seem to be on a time travel in the castle. From simple to extravagant, from noble to commoner, from medieval to modern ......

In addition to the youth hostel, museum and restaurant, another popular renovation of Schloss is the wedding venue. The castle hosted 10 weddings in the two days of my stay. The courtyard was filled with guests and laughter. It is clear that the renovation of the castle has fulfilled its design purpose well: to make the youth hotel, museum and restaurant complement each other, to complement each other's functions, to integrate culture and history with local economic benefits as much as possible, and to rejuvenate the 800-year-old castle.

Article Source:艺术与设计

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