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Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Montcharvin is an ancient fortified house built in the 13th century, then remodeled in the 14th and 15th centuries. Located on the town of Cognin (Savoie), it was a strategic point to control the old road from Chambéry to Échelles via Vimines. Its location on a steep hill made it a natural defensive position, supplemented by fortifications adapted to its role of surveillance of Savoyard territory.

In the Middle Ages, the castle was part of a defensive trio with those of Salins and Villeneuve, all three located on Cognin. It belonged first to the family of La Salle: Humbert de La Salle lived there in the 14th century before selling, in 1321, his house of Chambéry aux Bonivard, new family owner. At the beginning of the 16th century, the estate passed to Janus de Duyn, Baron of Val-d-Isère and great squire of Savoie, through his marriage with Claudine Bonivard. Their daughter, Louise de Duyn, without heir, bequeathed the castle in 1525 to his cousin Pierre de La Forest, lord ambassador.

The La Forest preserved Montcharvin until the 18th century, marking its history by figures such as Jean de La Forest, great captain and ambassador. In 1592 he obtained the right to free the serfs of the seigneury. Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by a square tower, a staircase with screws, and preserved medieval elements: a third-point door from the 13th century, a door-window, and a 14th century fireplace. Two rounds, one of which was ruined, completed his defensive system.

The site illustrates the evolution of the Savoyard fortified houses from medieval fortress to seigneurial residence. Its history reflects local noble alliances, between families such as La Salle, Bonivard, De Duyn, and La Forest, while at the same time witnessing architectural transformations linked to the defensive and residential needs of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries.

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