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Origin and history

The Dalmaz fort house, located in La Balme-de-Sillingy in Haute-Savoie, is part of a medieval defensive network including the castles of La Balme and La Bâtie. Probably built between the late 13th and early 14th centuries by the Counts of Geneva, it controlled the road between Annecy and Geneva via Choisy and Cruseilles. Its toponym, in various forms (Dalma, Darmaz, Dalmat), appears in medieval documents, but its exact origin remains uncertain, despite a local legend evoking a Damascus sultan.

The first clear mention of the strong house dates from the end of the 14th century, with a noble named Pierre de Dalmaz residing there. Dalmaz's seigneury remained in the hands of this family until the 18th century, before moving to the Rubelin family, which was not noble, and then to be shared among farming families in the 19th century. The site, integrated into a built-up agricultural and residential core, suffered three domestic fires (1865, 1906, 1985), but still retains a house, a Renaissance staircase and a tower.

The fort house of Dalmaz completed a strategic defensive device with the castles of La Balme (seat of a Comtal chestnut) and La Bâtie, now disappeared. This trio controlled the major roads between Annecy, Clermont, Seyssel and Geneva, as well as the Mandallaz Pass. Unlike other buildings in the system, Dalmaz's strong house is the only one that survived, although partially modified by its subsequent agricultural use.

The castle of La Balme, neighbour and center of the chestnut, was a major comtal residence until the 15th century, welcoming personalities such as Colette de Corbie (1407–1409) or the Ducaux de Savoie children in 1418. After the extinction of the Counts of Geneva, the site passed under Savoyard control in 1401, then to the Genevois-Nemours, before falling into ruins. The less prestigious Dalmaz house, however, plays a key role in monitoring secondary roads, as evidenced by its still visible architectural remains.

The châtellenie accounts and the medieval archives reveal that the fortified house had a chapel and a shingle roof (reacted after a fire in 1370). Its architecture, although modest compared to neighbouring castles, reflects its importance in the local defensive mesh. Today, the hamlet of Dalmaz and a road perpetuate its toponym, recalling its medieval past in a landscape marked by the history of Geneva County and Savoy.

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