Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Bonport Castle, also known as the Tressreve Castle, is a late 16th century building built shortly after 1584 on the town of Tressreve in Savoie. It was the seat of the seigneury of Bonport, originally linked to the estate of the Great Vigne, whose origins date back to 1344 under the property of Humbert de Seyssel. This estate, ceded and exchanged several times by the house of Savoie, was erected in 1584 by Charles-Emmanuel I, before becoming the seigneury of Bonport in 1603 under Louis Bonnier.

The castle changed hands frequently: acquired by the Capré de Megève family in 1674, it retained it until 1734, appending its motto "Non indigna coelo" on the door. A chapel dedicated to the Virgin, mentioned in 1729, completed the estate. In the 19th century, the castle welcomed personalities like Pauline Borghèse in 1812, before being fragmented and transformed into night establishments (Le Bassamba, Le 502) in the 20th century, then ravaged by a fire in 2008.

Located at the foot of the Tresserve hill, near Lake Bourget, the castle lost its private port in the 19th century when the railway line and the national road 201 were built. Architecture on the cross with two turrets, it was restored in identical form from 2013 by Nicolas Claret-Tournier, who spent his childhood there. Since 2021, it has hosted private events under the name Château de Tresserve.

Historical sources cite specialized works on Savoyard castles, notably those of Michèle Brocard, which detail his architectural and social evolution, from his seigneurial role to his contemporary uses.

External links