Duin Tower

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Duin Tower, on a hill south of Bex (Vaud), is the sole surviving remnant of a feudal castle of several towers, built on the heights of Chiètres. Probably dating from the 12th century, it is linked by the *Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse* to the lord Girold de Bex, who took this title in 1177. Besides a square residential tower, the castle comprised enclosures and a system of curtain walls and battlements; only the tower survives, and only its crenellated upper section rises above the forest. The lordship of Bex was soon divided: in 1316, one third belonged to the Greysier family and one third to the Blonay family, whose heirs in 1431 were the lords of Duin, castellans until 1574, while the last third, Savoyard, was enfeoffed to the Tavelli in 1352. The name Duin comes from Antoine de Duin, husband of Marguerite de Blonay in the 15th century. The castle was set on fire in 1476, lost its defensive function at the beginning of the 17th century and was heightened in the 19th century. The tower is privately owned and visible from the outside.