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Origin and history

The Château de Cornillon, located in the commune of Saint-Laurent in Haute-Savoie, is a former castle dating from the early 12th century, associated with an 11th century tower. Its ruins stand on a steep rock at 822 meters above sea level, overlooking the Borne valley and controlling access to the Abbey of Entremont. This strategic site was used to monitor the gorges of the Borne and the Arve valley to Lake Geneva.

According to Lucien Guy's research, the castle belonged to the family of Cornillon, vassal of the Counts of Genevois, whose arms were blazing "of gold to the chevron de gules accompanied by three flying crows of sand". In 1180, Guillaume de Cornillon was mentioned as a witness to an agreement in Geneva. In the 12th century, the tower, called "Donjonum de Cornillone", was part of the dowry of Marguerite de Genève during his marriage with Thomas I of Savoie.

In 1256 Alice de La Tour du Pin, Countess of Geneva, surrendered the castle and the territory of the Bornand to her son Rodolphe, subject to payment of his debts. Around 1260, Pierre II de Savoie claimed a share of the castle, but an arbitration maintained Cornillon under the control of the Counts of Geneva. In 1306 Amédée II of Geneva bequeathed Cornillon to his sons Amédée and Hugues, on condition of non-alienation.

From the beginning of the 14th century, the castle was deserted for Rumilly-sous-Cornillon. The Cornillon family, divided into two branches (Sallanches and Reignier), no longer resides there. The current remains include a round tower and rock-backed walls, revealing a modest, hard-to-reach building, serving more as a watchdog than an organized fortress. The 13th century cylindrical tower, 5 meters high, bears witness to its role of border surveillance between the Genevois and the Faucigny.

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