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Origin and history

The Château d'Epierre is an ancient strong house built in the 12th century, rebuilt in the 14th century and restored in the 16th-17th centuries. Centre of the seigneury and then Barony of Épierre, it stands on the Savoyard commune of the same name, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its strategic location, northeast of the town, allowed it to control the narrow passage over the Arc River and access to the Grand Cucheron Pass, a major traffic axis in Maurienne.

The strong house, originally built with irregular pebbles and flat stones (opus spicatum technique), housed seigneurial houses, stables and barns. The main body, dated by dendrochronology between 1335 and 1350, has trilobed ogival windows and an illuminated corridor, characteristic of medieval military architecture. A large bassyard, once fossilized, was complete together, protected by a crenelated enclosure and a round path.

In the 15th century, the castle entered the possessions of the family of La Chambre. Urban de La Chambre was invested in 1419 by Duke Amédée VIII of Savoie. The fief then passed to the Seyssel, then to the Brunet de Montmélian in 1576, before being acquired by the inhabitants of Épierre in 1676 for 27,000 guilders, then already in ruins. The title of Baron followed a distinct line up to Charles Emmanuel de Ville in 1725.

The site experienced renewed interest in 1986 as a decoration of the Guillaume Tell series (FR3), where its inner courtyard was transformed into a medieval village. In 1989, it hosted the celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution and the annexation of Savoie (1860), marked by the installation of a Savoyard-coloured mast.

Today, the ruins of the castle of Epierra, classified for their historical value, offer a testimony of the architectural and political evolutions of the Maurienne, between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Their current state reflects successive changes, although sources are lacking to clarify certain construction phases.

Historical studies are based on the work of Michèle Brocard and Georges Chapier, who emphasize his role in the Savoyard feudal hierarchy. The site, although partially erased, remains a marker of the military and seigneurial heritage of the valley.

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