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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castral site of the Châtelet, located in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie), is an old house today in ruins. It dominated the Bonnant gorges and was the heart of the Châtelet seigneury. Its remains, partially buried, comprise two walls of enclosure: one at the bottom of the hill, modest, the other at the top, higher and restricted. The site was searched in 2008 for development.

The house belonged to the Fresnay family in the late 15th century. In the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste du Fresnay, seigneur of the Countesse and the Châtelet, passed the estate on to his son Claude-Melchior. Later, François-Nicolas du Fresnay, his grandson, gathered the titles of the two seigneuries. These remains bear witness to medieval Savoyard military architecture.

Listed in the historic monuments by decree of 19 September 1989, the castral site of the Châtelet illustrates the feudal history of the local area. Its location, facing the strong house of Fresnay, underscores its strategic role in the seigneurial landscape of the region. The excavations of 2008 enriched the knowledge of this heritage, now protected but not freely accessible.

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