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Key figures

Origin and history

The square tower of Montmélian is the last vestige of the mansion built in 1205 by Richard de Vernon, lord of Montmélian, after a conflict with Guy III le Bouteiller. This mansion, of residential rather than military style, coexisted with the royal castle of Philip I (1060), now disappeared. The hill of Montmelian, culminating at 203 m, was a strategic and spiritual place since Antiquity, housing a Gaulish cult dedicated to Teutates before being Christianized in the third century by Saint Rieul.

In the Middle Ages, Montmélian became a prosperous chestnut, with a pilgrimage church dedicated to Notre-Dame, frequented by Louis IX. The Carrée Tower, built in glazes of flint, served as a seigneurial residence until its partial destruction during the religious wars (16th century). Local archives, burned in 1793, limit the precise knowledge of its post-medieval history. The tower, now in ruins, is surrounded by archaeological remains such as medieval paving and Romanesque capitals.

The hill of Montmelian, rich in gypsum and clay, was exploited until the 20th century. The site, marked by medieval undergrounds and a sacred source, attracted pilgrims until the Revolution. In the 19th century, a neo-Gothic chapel (1856-1864) temporarily replaced the old church, but was destroyed in 1978. The Tower Carrée, classified on a private property, remains a symbol of the missing heritage of this medieval village.

Montmélian's decline began in the 17th century, with gradual depopulation in favour of Mortefontaine and Plailly. The ruins of the mansion, used as a stone quarry, briefly housed a dwelling in the 18th century. Today, the tower and the temporary chapel (1800) bear witness to this past, while the hill, covered with private forests, preserves traces of its religious and seigneurial history.

The 19th-century excavations revealed medieval objects (decorated pads, earth lamps, Philippe le Hardi's obole), confirming the importance of the site. The Carrée Tower, with its 1.20 m thick walls and full arched windows, illustrates 13th century civil architecture. Its present state, although degraded, makes it a major historical landmark in the Pays de France and Valois.

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