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Villages / Valais / Entremont district / Château d'Entremont

Château d'Entremont

Site Canton of Valais · District: Entremont · Uninhabited site (municipality of Sembrancher)
Part of the municipality of Sembrancher
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Château d'Entremont

The castle bears the name of the Entremont, whose castellan administered the area, and is also called the castle of Sembrancher. The name Entremont itself remains unexplained.[4]

Founding of Château d'Entremont

The castle crowned a rocky ridge south of Sembrancher, above the Dranse d'Entremont. From there it controlled the old Great St Bernard road and the bridge towards Bagnes. It certainly already existed in the 12th century, but who had it built is unknown. Its castellan answered to the counts of Savoy. Destroyed during the conquest of Lower Valais by the Upper Valaisans, the castle later housed a chapel dedicated to Saint John in its tower.[1][4]

History of Château d'Entremont

12th century. The castle certainly already exists.[4]

1239. Amadeus of Savoy sets the boundaries of the franchises of Sembrancher, marked by the castle's « round stone ». This is the earliest known mention of the castle.[4]

1279-1280. The accounts of Pierre de Monthey record an inventory of war engines.[4]

1359. Sembrancher becomes the chief town of the castellany of Entremont.[2]

1475. During the conquest of Lower Valais by the Upper Valaisans, Sembrancher suffers much destruction, including that of the castle (1476 according to another source).[1][4]

1475-1798. The castellany of Entremont forms one of the banners of the governorship of Saint-Maurice.[2]

early 16th century. The choir of the chapel of Saint-Jean is fitted into the old tower and curtain wall of the castle.[4]

around 1675. Construction of the nave and the Baroque altar of the chapel.[4]

1893. The chapel's façade and door are remade.[4]

Historic sites in Château d'Entremont

Chapel of Saint-Jean. Chapel with an open bell-cote above the small town of Sembrancher, fitted into the old tower of the castle. Its choir dates from the early 16th century, its nave from about 1675.[1][4]

Remains in Château d'Entremont

Walls of the old tower. Part of the walls of the castle tower is built into the chapel of Saint-Jean.[1]

Sources

  1. Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS (Inventaire fédéral des sites construits à protéger en Suisse), « Sembrancher », n° 5125
  2. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, « Sembrancher (Gemeinde) » (David Rey, version du 23.11.2011)
  3. Adolphe Ribordy, « Sembrancher, l'hospitalière », Le Confédéré, 29 mars 1994
  4. Louis Blondel, « Le château de Sembrancher ou d'Entremont », Vallesia, 6, 1951
  5. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (Ruine du Château d'Entremont, coordonnées)

Other villages near Château d'Entremont

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