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Origin and history

Chaumont Castle, built in the 12th century, is an ancient castle with ruins overlooking the commune of Chaumont, Haute-Savoie. Located 636 metres above sea level on a rocky spur, it controlled the strategic passage of "Malpas" and protected the northwest of Geneva County. Its location offered a panoramic view of the Fornant gorges and locked a major medieval road from Geneva to Seyssel, inherited from a secondary Roman road.

Originally, the castle belonged to the Counts of Geneva, who made it a fiefdom under their authority. From the 11th century it was mentioned as possession of the Sires de Chaumont, vassals of the Counts. In 1174, the castra was attested for the first time in the texts, before being assigned to the Counts of Geneva between 1160 and 1178. In 1178, Guillaume I of Geneva paid tribute to the Abbé de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, suggesting a possible ecclesiastical origin of the rights on the site. In the 13th century, noble families such as the Bossy or the Sallenoves held possessions there.

The castle became the seat of a Comtal chestnut, managed by officers appointed by the Counts of Geneva, then Savoie from 1355. Its administrative and military role continued until the 16th century wars: it was dismantled in 1536 by François I's troops during the French occupation and rebuilt by Emmanuel-Philibert de Savoie before being attacked in 1589-1590 by the Bernese and Genevois. In 1630 Louis XIII ordered his definitive destruction, reducing the site to the state of ruins. In the 18th century, the Marquisat de Chaumont was erected for the Deschamps family, then acquired by Joseph-Nicolas de La Grange.

Architecturally, the castle consisted of two or three successive enclosures, with a quadrangular Romanesque tower (11×9 m) characteristic of medieval Bergfrieden. A round tower of the 13th century strengthened the east corner, while a house body and a large house completed the whole. The excavations revealed a system of adding water to a tree. The main tower was restored in 2009. The site dominated a fortified village, which received its franchises in 1310.

Chaumont châtellenie extended over the slopes of the Vuache, including communes such as Dingy-en-Vuache, Marlioz and Chessenaz. In the 15th century, it covered a strategic territory between the Rhone and the Semine, with wine-growing activities (as in Musiège) and a toll role on commercial routes. The châtellenie accounts, kept since 1356, document its administration under the Counts of Savoie, with chestnuts in charge of tax management and maintenance of the castle.

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