Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château d'Arcine is an old fortified house built in the 12th century, located in the commune of Clarafond-Arcine, Haute-Savoie. The capital of the seigneury of Arcine, it was deeply restored in the 20th century. Located on a barred spur west of the Vuache mountain, it overlooks the left bank of the Rhone, forming with the castle of the Cluse a strategic lock controlling the river and land passages towards Vulbens.

At the end of the 12th century, the family of Arcine owned it before the seigneury returned to the Counts of Geneva. In 1296, Amédée II of Geneva gave the fief to François de Lucinges, while retaining the right to apply corporal punishment. The strong house then exercises limited high justice, excluding such punishment. The seigneury changed hands in 1398, sold by Jean de Lucinges to François de Verboz and his wife Louise Chaume.

Verboz's family kept the castle for centuries. Jacques de Verboz, lord of Arcine, died in 1484, leaving the seigneury to his descendants. In 1699 Philibert de Verboz, the husband of Charlotte de Saconay, was the last representative of the estate before the estate passed to Collomb by marriage in 1712. The latter, anoblised in 1611, formed the branch of the Collomb d'Arcine but preferred to reside elsewhere, as at the Château du Sougey.

In the 19th century, the castle was sold in 1894 by Hélène Collomb d'Arcine to Gustave Burlat. In 1919, Émile Belime acquired and undertook a complete restoration. Architecturally, the castle consists of two towers (one square, one round) and a house body, all surrounded by high walls, reflecting its defensive and seigneurial role.

External links