Château de Châtillon-sur-Cluses

En un regard

Le château en bref

Perched at 862 metres above sea level on a limestone spur, the ruins of the Château de Châtillon-sur-Cluses overlook the Col de Châtillon, a pass between the Arve and Giffre valleys. The seat of the lords of Châtillon at the end of the 12th century, the fortress passed in the 13th century to the lords of Faucigny; Aymon II of Faucigny drew up his will there in 1234. Through the marriage of 1253, it became part of the possessions of the dauphins of Viennois, before returning to Savoy under the Treaty of Paris of 1355. From the 13th to the 16th century, it was the seat of a châtellenie grouping thirteen parishes, and then of the bailiwick of Faucigny. In 1492, rebellious peasants known as the "Robes rouges" seized it. Granted in 1530 to the La Palud family, the stronghold was mainly used as a prison from the 16th century onwards before falling into disuse. Three successive enceintes and a Romanesque keep measuring roughly 6.6 by 7.7 metres survive. Not protected as a monument historique, the ruins are the subject of consolidation works begun in autumn 2026.