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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Châtel Tower, also known as the Berold Tower or Sarrazin Tower, is the last vestige of a medieval castle founded at least in the 9th century, located on the delegated commune of Châtel, in the Maurian valley. This 14.5-metre square dungeon, about 20 metres high, overlooks the valley and the Arc from a steep promontory. Its main access was through the village of Hermillon, reflecting its defensive role in an area marked by conflicts and Alpine exchanges.

The site, occupied from Roman times, is mentioned for the first time in 887 under the name castrum Armelionis. The present tower, probably dating back to the 11th century, would be a vestige of the dungeon of the castle of Hermillon, a strategic center of the Maurienne chestnut under the Humbertians, Counts of Savoy. According to local legends, Bérold de Saxony, founder of Savoie's house, has renovated the site, giving it its alternative name. The castle, abandoned in the seventeenth century, retained only its tower, restored in the nineteenth century.

Ranked a historic monument by order of 8 May 1900, the tower even served as a refuge during the German retreat in August 1944. Its salient stones and massive structure illustrate medieval construction techniques, while its history mixes historical facts with popular narratives. Now a communal property, it symbolizes the defensive heritage and Savoyard heritage of the Maurian.

Hermillon's châtellenie, whose castle was the heart, played a key administrative and military role from the thirteenth century. In 1271, a chestnut from Aiguebelle combined the functions of metral (comtal representative) for Maurienne and Hermillon, stressing the importance of the site in the local feudal organization. The tower, the only remaining element, recalls this time when the Chatelan managed justice, collection of taxes and defence of the territory on behalf of the Counts of Savoie.

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