Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Montconon Castle, also known as Montis Cononi, is a fortified house built on the town of Alby-sur-Chéran in Haute-Savoie. It belonged to a set of seven castles (with Châteauvieux, Le Donjon, Montdésir, Montpon, Montvuagnard and Pierrecharve) intended to defend the valley and control the passage of the Cheran torrent. These fortifications formed a coherent system, strategically positioned around the village to ensure military protection and control of the roads.

Located 2 kilometres south of Alby-sur-Chéran, on the border of the communes of Saint-Maurice and d-Héry, the castle overlooked a ravine opposite the castle of Pierrecharve. Its location, far from the left bank of the Cheran, allowed it to dominate the surroundings while remaining away from the flood areas. The walls of the enclosure, now razed at ground level like those of Montdésir, suggest a defensive structure adapted to the needs of the late Middle Ages.

In the 15th century, the castle belonged to the family of Montconon. Around 1450, François de Montconon married Guillermette de Menthon-Lornay, and their daughter Marie transmitted the seigneury to the Richard de Vons family through her marriage to André (or Antoine) Richard. The property then changed hands several times, notably through marriage alliances: in 1565 Barthélemy de Montfalcon became seigneur after his marriage to Clauda Brunier, widow of Louis Portier. Succession continues, with families such as the Pelards, the Chachalieus, or the La Faverge, until the Revolution.

In 1612, Marguerite Pelard married Jean Chachalieu, seigneur of La Touche and Montconon, marking a new phase in the history of the estate. Their daughter Angeline, godmother of Alby in 1647, illustrates the local anchoring of the family. In the 18th century, the castle passed into the hands of the La Faverge, then, after 1801, to the family of Thiollaz. In 1900, Jean Lansard de Marigny acquired; His descendants still reside there today. The strong house, although transformed, preserves narrow Romanesque windows and was made habitable after renovations.

Architecturally, the castle of Montconon reflects the characteristics of the Savoyard fortified houses: defensive openings (high and narrow Romanesque windows) and an enclosure that is now gone. Its role in the defensive system of Alby-sur-Chéran underlines its strategic importance for centuries, before becoming a private residence. The written sources, such as the map of 1738, attest to its persistence and its adaptation to successive periods, from feudalism to contemporary times.

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