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Origin and history

Coudrée Castle, formerly known as Foron(s), is a strong house built at the end of the 12th century on the shores of Leman, in the Gulf of Coudrée, on the town of Sciez (Haute-Savoie). Originally owned by the Counts of Savoy, it was transferred in 1245 to Béatrix d'Allinges and his sons, in exchange for land located at Marclay and Jussy. The name Coudrée comes from a place planted with hazelnut trees, while Forons designates the building in the first acts.

The seigneury, held by the Allinges family until 1840, became a marquisate in 1655. The castle played a strategic role in the conflicts between Savoie and Geneva, notably in 1589-1590, where it resisted a Berlin-Genevian attack under the command of Baron de Conforgien. Esther d'Harrocourt, wife of Antoine d'Allinges, then obtained permission to dismantle the ramparts, whose remains were found.

Architecturally, the castle adopts a quadrangular plan (44 x 34 m), with a central dungeon and a enclosure flanked by semicircular towers added in the 15th century. The ditches, probably connected to the lake, reinforced his defense. After the death of the last descendant of the Allinges in 1840, the estate passed into the hands of the Alfieri di Sostegno family, and was sold in 1856 to Anatole Bartholoni, which began its restoration between 1912 and 1914.

Located in the former Chablais province, the castle overlooks the mouth of Foron, 1.1 km north of the town of Sciez. Its history reflects regional rivalries and feudal alliances, while illustrating the architectural evolution of Savoyard fortified houses between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

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