Rolle Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Rolle Rolle () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle (district), Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon District, N ...

of the

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

In 1261, the Lords of Mont planned to build a city along the lake that would compete with the

Aubonne Aubonne () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Morges District, Morges in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. In 2011 the former municipality of Pizy merged into Aubonne and on 1 January 202 ...

and

Saint-Prex Saint-Prex () is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges. In 1973, St-Prex was awarded the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. History Saint-Prex is first ment ...

. By around 1264, Rolle Castle was built named at the time Castrum de Ruello to protect the pier at the lake named in Honor of King Rollo the 10th Century CE Viking leader. However, the planned city was never built by the Mont family. In 1291, the castle was in possession of Count Amadeus V of Savoy, who granted it to several different families as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

. In the course of the rivalry between the Counts of Savoy and the Lords of Vaud, in 1319 Amadeus V of Savoy finally built a city around the castle, in 1330 the city was named Ruelloz. This new city closed a gap in the savoy settlements on the northern shores of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

. During the Bernese invasion, both Le Rosey Castle and Rolle Castle were attacked and burned. Under Bernese rule (1536-1798) Rolle was part of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Morges. In 1558, the Bernese merchant Hans Steiger, who was already the lord of Mont-le-Grand, acquired the barony of Rolle. His family retained the property until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The barony included the town of Rolle (except the fief of Les Uttins which belonged until the 18th century to the La Harpe family), Tartegnin, Vinzel, Luins, half of Essertines-sur-Rolle, some homes in Begnins, the region of Vincy and Saint-Vincent (now in

Gilly Gilly is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Gilly is first mentioned in 1179 as ''de Iusliaco''. In 1278 it was mentioned as ''Gillie''. Geography Gilly has an area, , of . Of this area, or ...

), Bursinel and in 1615 they acquired Le Rosey Castle, Dully and Le Vaud. The judicial court was composed of the lord, his deputy, a court clerk, and ten members from Rolle and villages in the district. One of ten members governed the city. In 1740 the town bought itself out from under some taxes and duties. Following the

French invasion of Switzerland The French invasion of Switzerland (French: ''Campagne d'Helvétie'', German: ''Franzoseneinfall'') occurred from January to May 1798 as part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The independent Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed from the invasion and s ...

in 1798, Rolle became the seat of a district of the same name. In 1799 the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

bought the castle from the municipality and used it until 1974 as the seat of government. In 1802, during the

Bourla-papey Bourla-Papey was the name given to a popular revolt that took place between February and May 1802 in the Canton of Léman, in Switzerland, during the days of the Helvetic Republic. The uprising was in response to the restoration of feudal rights a ...

uprising, patrician land titles and tax records were burned in the archives at Rolle Castle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolle Castle Castles in Vaud Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud Rolle

History

See also

References

External links