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Origin and history

The castle of Montfalcon, mentioned from the 11th–12th century under the name Mons Falconis, is an ancient Savoyard castle of the 13th century. Located on an isolated nipple at 542 meters above sea level, it dominated the Albenche valley and monitored commercial routes between Chambéry, Annecy and Lake Bourget. Its strategic role was reinforced by its proximity to the castle of Longefan.

The site was first cited in 1084, when Gauthier de Montfalcon and his wife Bulgrade founded the Priory of Saint-Innocent. The first official document dates from 1252, when Bernard Farguil de Montfalcon sold his property to Béatrice de Savoie, Countess of Provence. In 1268, Count Peter II of Savoy excluded the castle from the inheritance of his daughter Beatrice, before he passed to his nieces Marguerite and Eleonore, then to the children of Thomas II of Piedmont in 1275. In 1286, Louis de Savoie gave him to his brother Amédée V, then he joined the domain of the house of Geneva in 1306.

The castle, object of conflict, was burned in 1309 by Hugues de Genève, then in 1313 by Amédée III de Genève. The seigneury of Montfalcon, in division, extended to La Biolle, Albens, Saint-Girod and the hamlets of Saint-Germain and Aix. Several families share control, including the Montfalcon, the La Balme and the Mouxy. In 1524 Charles III de Savoie brought together the coseigneuries, before the fief was sold in 1566 to Louis Oddinet, then passed on by inheritances and marriages to the Seyssel-La Chambre and the Allinges.

The castle, probably destroyed during the Franco-Savoyard war (1600–1601), served as a career in the 19th century. Its remains include a 400-metre polygonal enclosure, a 12th-century Romanesque dungeon, a 13th-century tower-residence and the traces of a Saint-Antoine chapel. The excavations revealed re-used ancient stones, probably from the Roman vicus of Albens.

Montfalcon was the seat of a chestnut farm dependent on Savoie's bailiff, and was home to a chestnut farm in charge of collecting tax revenues and maintaining the building. The dungeon served as a residence for this officer, who was appointed for a fixed term. Savoie's departmental archives retain chestnut accounts dating from the 13th to the 16th century, reflecting its administrative importance.

Today, the ruins of the castle, accessible from the hamlet of Montfalcon by ancient medieval roads, offer a panorama of the region. The site illustrates Savoyard military architecture and the seigneurial dynamics of the Middle Ages, marked by complex family alliances and recurring territorial conflicts.

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