Château de Bonneville (Haute-Savoie)
Interactive map of Château de Bonneville | |
| Location | Country: France Former provinces of the Duchy of Savoy: Faucigny Region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Department: Haute-Savoie Municipality: Bonneville |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°04′44″N 6°24′30″E / 46.07889°N 6.40833°E[1] |
| Type | Castle |
| Beginning date | 13th century |
| Potection | Listed as a historic monument (1987)[2] |
| Original owner: Beatrice of Faucigny Original purpose: Count's residence Current owner: Municipality of Bonneville Current purpose: Open to the public | |
The Château de Bonneville, also known as the Castle of the Lords of Faucigny or of Béatrix de Faucigny, is a former fortified castle dating from the 13th century and restored in the 16th century. Its remains are located in the commune of Bonneville in the Haute-Savoie department, within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. In the 13th century, it served as the seat of a châtellenie.
The ruins of the former comital castle were listed as a historical monument by a decree issued on 3 November 1987.[2]
Location
The Château de Bonneville is located in the commune of Bonneville in the Haute-Savoie department. It stands on a rocky mound overlooking the town to the north of the Place du Parquet, at an elevation of approximately 450 metres. Positioned on the right bank of the Arve,[3] it commands the confluence of the Arve and the Borne.[4]
Toponymy
The castle is located in the Bourg du Château (Burgum Castri)[4] and is referred to as Castrum Arvense.[3][5] The settlement received the name Bona villa (“the Good Town”) from Béatrice de Faucigny, corresponding to present-day Bonneville.[4] The earliest known document mentioning the toponym dates from 1289.[6]
The municipal website refers to the castle as Sires de Faucigny or Béatrix de Faucigny, in reference to Béatrix (or Béatrice), lady of Faucigny. The plaque presenting the restoration work uses the form “Château des Sires du Faucigny,” which is also employed in the designation of the adjacent eco-district.[7] This naming convention is likewise used by local institutions, including the website of the Communauté de communes Faucigny-Glières[8] and the regional tourism body Savoie Mont Blanc.[9]
History
On the hill of Pressy, behind the high school, the Lords of Anières built a Romanesque tower in the 11th century[10] to oversee the crossing of the Arve. This structure, now disappeared, marked the location of the former castle of Toisinge(s) or Tucinge(s).[4]
In 1262,[10][4] slightly farther west, the future Count Peter of Savoy,[6][11][12] then married to Agnes of Faucigny, constructed a wooden fort on a mound[4] known as the chaffal.[13][Note 1] The village originally bore the name Toisinge(s) or Tucinge(s), a form that appears in numerous documents prior to 1283.[14][3]
This structure was replaced around 1290[10][4] by the current castle, attributed to his daughter Béatrice of Faucigny, known as the Grande Dauphine.[Note 2] The town is first mentioned under its new name in an act dated 11 March 1289, in which the dauphin concluded an agreement with the lord of Beaufort.[6]
Widowed from the dauphin Guigues VII of Viennois, Béatrice of Faucigny—who administered the Dauphiné and the Faucigny, whose territories formed a Dauphinois enclave between the County of Geneva and the States of Savoy—granted the Faucigny as an inheritance to her grandson Hugues de La Tour du Pin, son of Humbert de La Tour du Pin, at the castle on 2 January 1304.[15] In the peace treaty concluded in August 1308 between the Count of Savoy and Béatrice, the castles of Faucigny, Bonne, Monthoux, Bonneville, Châtelet-de-Credo, Alinge-le-Vieux, and Lullin, with their respective mandates and jurisdictions, were included.[16] The castle was also the site of the 1309 marriage contract[15] between Hugues de La Tour du Pin and Marie of Savoy, daughter of Count Amadeus V.
In 1355,[15] when the Faucigny returned to Savoyard control under the Treaty of Paris, Amadeus VI designated the site as the centre of a châtellenie, making it the administrative and judicial seat of the region. The juge-mage resided there, and the town council held its sessions at the castle. That same year, Amadeus VI stayed at the castle and granted it to his wife, Bonne of Bourbon. The structure was damaged by a fire in 1392[4] or 1393[15] and was restored in 1583.[17]
In 1589,[15] the castle resisted the conflict opposing the Duke of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel, to Geneva and the King of France.
In the 16th and 17th centuries,[10] the Faucigny was granted as an appanage to the Genevois-Nemours. They were represented in Bonneville by a châtelain residing at the castle. Prisons were established within the castle, and in the 18th century[10] under the House of Savoy, the residential quarters were demolished. The castle continued to function as a prison until 1934 and was subsequently acquired by the commune of Bonneville.
Description
The Château de Bonneville, with its regular layout, is an example of a “Savoyard square” castle.[18] It consists of a quadrangular enclosure, originally surrounded by a ditch, measuring 18 metres wide and 85 metres long, with round towers at each corner, of which two on the eastern side remain. The eastern towers, known as the “Black Tower” and the “White Tower,” are 21 metres and 15 metres high, respectively, and were built by Béatrice de Faucigny, daughter of Peter II of Savoy. They are connected by an 18-metre curtain wall enclosing the seigneurial courtyard. Access to the castle was through a fortified gate framed by two towers and preceded by a drawbridge.[19]
The western section of the castle was significantly altered during its use as a prison, with only a walled-up window in the southern curtain wall remaining.[Note 3] At the northwestern corner, the highest point of the rock is occupied by a cylindrical keep, 9.75 metres in diameter and 14.50 metres high. This isolated circular tower is believed to have been constructed in the second half of the 13th century.[20]
The castle contains a Gothic chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine.[19]
Two archaeological excavations were conducted in 2019 by the Archaeology and Built Heritage Unit of the Haute-Savoie Departmental Council.[21]
The towers, curtain wall, and central courtyard are accessible to visitors during the summer season.[19]
Châtellenie of Bonneville
Organisation
The Château de Toisinges (Bonneville) served as the center of a châtellenie, or mandement, within the Faucigny, established from the 13th century.[22][23] The Faucigny is believed to have been organised into nine châtellenies[Note 4][24] by the end of the 12th century, with Toisinges (Bonneville) holding second place in precedence, according to the 1431 inventory of the titles of the Faucigny, cited by Canon Jean-Louis Grillet.[24][22]
During the Dauphiné period (1342–1343), the Faucigny was organised into fifteen châtellenies, including Bonneville. In the first half of the 14th century, the barony of Faucigny was again reorganised around seventeen châtellenies.[25]
| Commune | Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Ayse | Château des Tours | castle |
| Ayse | Maison forte de la Motte | fortified house |
| Bonneville | Château de Bonneville | castle |
| Bonneville | Château de Pressy | castle |
| Bonneville | Château des Roches | castle |
| Bonneville | Le Château | castle |
| Bonneville | Château de Cormand | fortified house |
| Brizon | Maison forte de Villy | fortified house |
| Marignier | Châtelard | small castle |
| Mont-Saxonnex | Château Blanc | other |
| Mont-Saxonnex | Le Châtelet | small castle |
| Mont-Saxonnex | Les Tours | other |
| Vougy | La Tour de l'Île | other |
In the early 14th century, the barony of Faucigny was reorganized into seventeen châtellenies.[27]
Châtelains
In the barony of Faucigny, and later in the County of Savoy, the châtelain was an officer appointed for a fixed term and subject to removal.[28][29] The châtelain managed the châtellenie or mandement, oversaw the collection of fiscal revenues, and supervised the maintenance of the castle.[30] He was sometimes assisted by a financial receiver who prepared the annual report.[31]
At the 32nd Congress of Learned Societies of Savoy in 1988, Bernard Ducretet discussed the châtellenie of Beaufort, drawing on Étienne Dullin's 1911 doctoral thesis, Les châtelains dans les domaines de la Maison de Savoie en deçà des Alpes. He noted that, until the second half of the 16th century, châtelains served as intermediaries between the local populations[Note 5] of their châtellenie and the prince's Curia, reporting on administration and conveying the community's wishes and grievances.[34]
Administration under the Faucigny, then the Dauphiné
Savoyard administration
Administration of the Genevois apanage (1514–1659)[37]
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See also
Notes
- ^ “Chaffal”: a medieval Savoyard term designating a wooden defensive structure.
- ^ In 1283, Béatrice de Faucigny gave the newly founded town the name Bonneville.[6]
- ^ Its tracery can be compared to that of the priory church of Contamine-sur-Arve, built in 1295 by the same Béatrice de Faucigny.
- ^ List of the nine châtellenies in the order of precedence: Châtillon, Toisinges (Bonneville), Bonne, Faucigny, Sallanches, Le Châtelet du Crédoz, Samoëns, Montjoie, and Flumet.
- ^ The “communier or comparsoniers, consorts or jomarons” were a grouping or association of several peasant families,[32] either within the framework of a parish or through the shared possession or exploitation of undivided property.[33]
References
- ^ Coordinates found on Géoportail.
- ^ a b "Château comtal (ensemble des bâtiments)" [Count's castle (all buildings)]. Ministere de la Culture (in French). Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ a b c Lullin, Paul; Le Fort, Charles (1866). Régeste genevois : Répertoire chronologique et analytique des documents imprimés relatifs à l'histoire de la ville et du diocèse de Genève avant l'année 1312 [Régeste genevois: Chronological and analytical directory of printed documents relating to the history of the city and diocese of Geneva prior to 1312] (in French). Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Genève. p. 458.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Guichonnet, Paul (2007). Nouvelle encyclopédie de la Haute-Savoie : Hier et aujourd'hui [New Encyclopedia of Haute-Savoie: Yesterday and Today] (in French). Montmélian: La Fontaine de Siloé. p. 170. ISBN 978-2-84206-374-0. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ Guy 1929, p. 152
- ^ a b c d Baud, Mariotte & Guerrier 1980, pp. 33–34
- ^ "Patrimoine historique - Le château de Bonneville (Sires de Faucigny ou Beatrix de Faucigny)" [Historical heritage - Bonneville Castle (Lords of Faucigny or Beatrix of Faucigny)]. Bonneville (in French). Archived from the original on March 30, 2016.
- ^ "Château des Sires du Faucigny" [Castle of the Lords of Faucigny]. CC Faucigny-Glières (in French). Archived from the original on January 8, 2017.
- ^ "Château des Sires du Faucigny" [Castle of the Lords of Faucigny]. Savoie Mont Blanc (in French). Archived from the original on April 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Regat & Aubert 1999, pp. 37–38
- ^ "Bonneville" (in French). Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ Perret, André (1981). Les institutions dans l'ancienne Savoie : Du onzième au seizième siècle [Institutions in ancient Savoy: From the eleventh to the sixteenth century] (PDF) (in French). Chambéry: Conseil départemental d'animation culturelle. p. 35. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 26, 2013.
- ^ Germain, Michel; Hebrard, Jean-Louis; Jond, Gilbert (1996). Dictionnaire des communes de Haute-Savoie [Dictionary of municipalities in Haute-Savoie] (in French). Éditions Horvath. p. 121. ISBN 978-2-71710-933-7.
- ^ Gavard, Guy (2006). Histoire d'Annemasse et des communes voisines : les relations avec Genève de l'époque romaine à l'an 2000 [History of Annemasse and neighboring towns: relations with Geneva from Roman times to the year 2000]. Les Savoisiennes (in French). Montmélian: La Fontaine de Siloé. p. 54. ISBN 978-2-84206-342-9. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Chapier 2005, p. 24
- ^ "Traité de paix fait à Montmélian entre le comte de Savoie et la Dauphine du 16 août 1308" [Peace treaty signed in Montmélian between the Count of Savoy and the Dauphine on August 16, 1308] (in French). Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ Salch, Charles-Laurent (1987). Dictionnaire des châteaux et des fortifications du Moyen Âge en France [Dictionary of Medieval Castles and Fortifications in France] (in French) (28th ed.). Strasbourg: Éditions Publitotal. p. 171. ISBN 2-86535-070-3. OCLC 1078727877.
- ^ de la Corbière, Matthieu (2003). L'invention et la défense des frontières dans le diocèse de Genève. Étude des principautés et de l'habitat fortifié (XIIe – XIVe siècle) [The invention and defense of borders in the diocese of Geneva. Study of principalities and fortified settlements (12th–14th centuries)]. Mémoires et documents (in French). Annecy: Académie salésienne. p. 198. ISBN 2-901102-18-2.
- ^ a b c d’Agostino, Laurent (2012). "Les châteaux du Moyen Âge en Haute-Savoie, entre recherche et mise en valeur. État de la question et perspectives" [Medieval castles in Haute-Savoie: between research and promotion. Current status and prospects] (PDF). HAL Open Science (in French): 67–98. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ^ de la Corbière 2003, p. 297
- ^ "Campagne de fouille et de prospection de l'alpage de Sales (Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, 74)" [Excavation and prospecting campaign in the Sales mountain pasture (Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, 74)] (in French). Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ^ a b Dufour, Auguste; Rabut, François (1867). Histoire de la commune de Flumet [History of the municipality of Flumet]. Mémoires et documents (in French). Vol. 11. Chambéry: Imprimerie du Gouvernement - Société savoisienne d'histoire et d'archéologie. pp. 62–68.
- ^ Gavard, Guy (2006). Histoire d'Annemasse et des communes voisines : les relations avec Genève de l'époque romaine à l'an 2000 [History of Annemasse and neighboring towns: relations with Geneva from Roman times to the year 2000]. Les Savoisiennes (in French). Montmélian: La Fontaine de Siloé. p. 65. ISBN 978-2-84206-342-9. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ a b Grillet, Jean-Louis (1807). Dictionnaire historique, littéraire et statistique des départements du Mont-Blanc et du Léman, contenant l'histoire ancienne et moderne de la Savoie [Historical, literary, and statistical dictionary of the departments of Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva, containing the ancient and modern history of Savoy] (in French). Vol. 2. Chambéry: J.F. Puthod. p. 264. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ de la Corbière 2003, p. 195
- ^ Payraud 2009, Appendix 8: List of fortified complexes included in the corpus
- ^ Carrier & de La Corbière 2005, p. XX
- ^ Sorrel, Christian (2006). Histoire de la Savoie : images, récits [History of Savoy: images, stories] (in French). La Fontaine de Siloé. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-2-84206-347-4. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ Carrier, Nicolas (2001). "Une justice pour rétablir la « concorde » : la justice de composition dans la Savoie de la fin du Moyen Âge (fin XIIIe -début XVIe siècle)" [Justice to restore “harmony”: composition justice in Savoy at the end of the Middle Ages (late 13th to early 16th century)]. Le règlement des conflits au Moyen Âge. Actes du XXXIe Congrès de la SHMESP (Angers, 2000) [Conflict resolution in the Middle Ages. Proceedings of the 31st SHMESP Congress (Angers, 2000)] (in French). Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne. pp. 237–257. ISBN 978-2-85944-438-9.
- ^ Barbero, Alessandro (2006). "Les châtelains des comtes, puis ducs de Savoie en vallée d'Aoste (XIIIe – XVIe siècle)" [The lords of the counts, then dukes of Savoy in the Aosta Valley (13th–16th centuries)]. « De part et d'autre des Alpes » : les châtelains des princes à la fin du moyen âge : actes de la table ronde de Chambéry, 11 et 12 octobre 2001 [“On both sides of the Alps”: the princes' castellanies at the end of the Middle Ages: proceedings of the round table in Chambéry, October 11 and 12, 2001] (in French).
- ^ Carrier, Nicolas. "A travers les archives médiévales de la principauté savoyarde - Les comptes de châtellenies" [Through the medieval archives of the Savoy principality - The accounts of the castellanies]. Archives départementales de la Savoie (in French). Archived from the original on March 3, 2015.
- ^ Leguay, Thérèse; Leguay, Jean-Pierre (2005). Histoire de la Savoie [History of Savoy] (in French). Paris: Éditions Jean-paul Gisserot. p. 43. ISBN 978-2-87747-804-5. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ Baud, Henri; Mariotte, Jean-Yves (1980). Histoire des communes savoyardes : Le Chablais [History of Savoyard municipalities: Chablais] (in French). Roanne: Éditions Horvath. p. 413. ISBN 978-2-7171-0099-0.
- ^ a b Ducretet, Bernard (1990). "Les châtelains de Beaufort du XIIIe au XVIIIe siècle" [The lords of Beaufort from the 13th to the 18th century]. Notables et notabilité dans les pays de Savoie : actes du XXXIIe congrès des sociétés savantes de Savoie, Moûtiers, 10-11 septembre 1988 publié par l'Académie de la Val d'Isère [Notables and notability in the Savoy countries: proceedings of the 32nd congress of learned societies of Savoy, Moûtiers, September 10-11, 1988, published by the Académie de la Val d'Isère] (in French). pp. 31–52.
- ^ Payraud 2009, pp. 671–682, Appendix 11: List of castle owners identified in this study
- ^ Andenmatten, Bernard; Paravicini Bagliani, Agostino (1992). Amédée VIII - Félix V, premier duc de Savoie et pape (1383-1451). Actes du colloque international, Ripaille-Lausanne, 23-26 octobre 1990 [Amédée VIII - Félix V, first Duke of Savoy and Pope (1383-1451). Proceedings of the international symposium, Ripaille-Lausanne, October 23-26, 1990] (in French). Vol. 103. Lausanne: Fondation Humbert II et Marie José de Savoie.
- ^ Perrillat, Laurent (2006). "Annexe n°4 - Listes des châtelains et fermiers de châtellenies de l'apanage aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles" [Appendix No. 4 - List of lords and farmers of the apanage castellanies in the 16th and 17th centuries]. L'apanage de Genevois aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles : pouvoirs, institutions, société [The prerogative of Genevois in the 16th and 17th centuries: powers, institutions, society] (in French). Vol. 113. Académie salésienne. pp. 931–932. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
Bibliography
- Baud, Henri; Mariotte, Jean-Yves; Guerrier, Alain (1980). Histoire des communes savoyardes : Le Faucigny [History of Savoyard municipalities: Le Faucigny] (in French). Roanne: Éditions Horvath. ISBN 2-7171-0159-4.
- Carrier, Nicolas; de La Corbière, Matthieu (2005). Entre Genève et Mont-Blanc au XIVe siècle : enquête et contre-enquête dans le Faucigny delphinal de 1339 [Between Geneva and Mont Blanc in the 14th century: investigation and counter-investigation in the Dauphin's Faucigny in 1339] (in French). Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-88442-019-8. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- Chapier, Georges (2005). Châteaux Savoyards : Faucigny, Chablais, Tarentaise, Maurienne, Savoie propre, Genevois [Savoyard castles: Faucigny, Chablais, Tarentaise, Maurienne, Savoie propre, Genevois]. L'amateur Averti (in French). Éditions La Découvrance. pp. 22–25. ISBN 978-2-8426-5326-2.
- Guy, Lucien (1929). "Les anciens châteaux du Faucigny" [The ancient castles of Faucigny]. Mémoires & documents (in French). 47: 152–154.
- Payraud, Nicolas (2009). Châteaux, espace et société en Dauphiné et en Savoie du milieu du XIIIe siècle à la fin du XVe siècle [Castles, space, and society in Dauphiné and Savoie from the mid-13th century to the end of the 15th century] (PDF) (Thesis) (in French). université Lumière-Lyon-II. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- Regat, Christian; Aubert, François (1999). Châteaux de Haute-Savoie : Chablais, Faucigny, Genevois [Castles of Haute-Savoie: Chablais, Faucigny, Genevois] (in French). Éditions Cabédita. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-2-8829-5117-5.
- "Série : Comptes des châtellenies (XIIIe siècle-XVIe siècle). Fonds : Inventaire-Index des comptes de châtellenie et de subsides" [Series: Accounts of the castellanies (13th century-16th century). Collection: Inventory-Index of accounts of the castellanies and subsidies] (PDF). Chambéry : Archives départementales de la Savoie (in French). pp. 108–118. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
External links
- "Château comtal (ensemble des bâtiments)" [Count's castle (all buildings)]. Ministere de la Culture (in French). Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- "Patrimoine" [Heritage] (in French). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- "Synthèse historique et documentaire" [Historical and documentary overview] (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- "Étude préalable aux travaux de restauration et de mise en valeur du Château des sires de Faucigny" [Preliminary study for the restoration and enhancement of the Château des sires de Faucigny] (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2025.