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Origin and history

The castle of Hauteville, built in the early 12th century, was a strategic comtal castle located on a promontory at 385 meters above sea level, overlooking the right bank of the Fier. It allowed the count of Geneva to control the road between Annecy and Chambéry via Rumilly, as well as the ford (then bridge) crossing the torrent. Its position also offered surveillance of the plain towards Rumilly, at a distance. The site also housed a village with a second seigneurial castle, a clunisian priory (as early as 1135) and a passenger hospital, run by the Order of Hospitallers around 1227.

The castle is mentioned for the first time in 1178 under the name castro de Alta villa, when the count of Geneva pays tribute for it to the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. At that time, half of the estate seemed to belong to the Hauteville family, whose members in the 13th century obtained the office of vidomne de Genève. In 1237, they were officially called lords of Hauteville. The castle, located at the border of the counties of Savoie and Geneva, becomes a recurring issue between these two houses, as evidenced by the treaties of 1282 and 1297, where it is exchanged or used as a pledge.

In the 14th century, the castle passed into the hands of several noble families by inheritance or marriage, such as the Dufrenoy (1395), the Montluel, or the Grolée (1570). The châtellenie d'Hauteville, originally comtal under the Geneva, became seigneurial and was infused with the Hauteville family. The Chatelans, officers appointed to manage the estate, collect tax revenues and maintain the fortress. From the 18th century, the castle was in ruins, and in the 20th century, archaeologist Louis Blondel described it as covered with ivy and invaded by bushes.

The site also includes a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of travellers, reflecting his role in controlling the passage of the Fier. According to Blondel, Hauteville was not a Frank village but a single castle with two castles, noble houses and a church. The seigneury, partially sold in the 17th and 18th centuries, passed between the families of Asnières, Gantelet, Mouxy and Chabod, before declining definitively.

The châtellenie d'Hauteville, also known as the mandement, probably originated in an ancient royal estate given to Saint-Maurice d'Agaune Abbey during the early Middle Ages. It reports directly to the count of Geneva before becoming an inferodious seigneury. The archives mention several chestnuts, but not all their exact names and periods are specified in available sources.

In 1311, the castle was handed over to Agnes de Châlons, widow of Count Amédée II of Geneva, in usufruct with a dowry guaranteed by the possessions of Cruseilles and Hauteville. The conflicts between Savoie and Geneva continued, and in 1338 the commission was infused in Nicod de Hauteville by Count Amédée III. The last known state of the castle, before its ruin, dates from the early eighteenth century, marking the end of its strategic role in the region.

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