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Origin and history

Mons Castle, also known as Mons Towers, is a medieval building built in the 13th century on a hilltop of the hamlet of Mons, in Vanzy (Haute-Savoie). Its remains, listed as historic monuments in 1989, include a rectangular tower (1290) and a courtyard flanked by 14th century round towers. This site strategically controlled the Usses valley and the Semine region, within the framework of the seigneury of the Arlod, vassal of the Counts of Geneva.

The seigneury of Mons emerged at the end of the 12th century, but the first certified seigneur, William of Arlod, appeared only in 1281 in an act of fief recognition. The tower, originally designed as a watchtower, evolved in the 14th century towards a residential function with the addition of a courtyard and outbuildings (grange, oven, cub). Some historians associate it, without definitive proof, with the "towers of Caesar", in connection with an earlier hypothetical Roman occupation.

Archaeological excavations and studies reveal that the towers of Mons are the best preserved medieval remains of the Semine. The main tower, originally accessible by an elevated entrance (6 meters from the ground), symbolizes the local seigneurial power. The current access, built in the 19th century, makes it easier to visit this emblematic site of Savoyard history.

The castle is part of a network of regional fortresses (Châtel, Bassy, Vallières) built between the 12th and 13th centuries, often on older foundations. Its gradual abandonment and its transformation into an archaeological site make it a key testimony of medieval military and domestic architecture in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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