Château de Monterminod

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château de Monterminod is a medieval castle located in the town of Saint-Alban-Leysse in the region of Savoy in France. The castle overlooks the hamlet of Le Villaret, and its position on the summit of a hill makes it highly visible from many kilometres away. The castle was strategically located within the region's defensive system. Indeed, in the event of an attack, the castle of Chambéry sent signals from its main tower to the castle of Monterminod, which in turn signalled another castle, and so on until the message reached the Maurienne valley. This system allowed the region's vassals to prepare for any attack and come to the rescue. The vineyard surrounding Château de Monterminod was created following an 11th-century law by Odilo of Cluny, archbishop of the Abbey of Cluny. The vineyard already surrounded the medieval castle and has not changed to this day. The very first public document mentioning the vineyard is a charter signed by Humbert the White-Handed between 1014 and 1042, recording the donation by the knight Aymon de Pierre Forte of the vineyard known as Mont Erminod (which later became “Monterminod”) to Saint Odilo, of the Abbey of Cluny. From the 13th to the 15th century, the castle was the property of the Crochet family, a noble family whose lineage goes back to the Harveys.