Saillon Castle or Bayard Tower is a ruined castle 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 ...

Saillon Saillon () is a municipality in the district of Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Saillon is first mentioned in 1052 as ''castellum Psallionis''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Schellon'', howeve ...

of the

Canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...

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

Saillon Castle is composed of several towers and walls built on a steep, rocky ridge above Saillon. There was probably a small castle on the site during the 12th century. The castle was built between 1257 and 1262 and consists of a roughly circular curtain wall which follows the contours of the ridge. On the western side the wall is strengthened by semicircular shell towers about every . The walls stopped at the Rhone river which, at the time, protected the southern side of the castle. Today the Rhone flows a little over from the walls. There were four gates which led into the fortification. The original castle was on the western side of the ridge, but only a few traces of the walls remain. Bayard Tower, the watch tower on top of the ridge, was built in 1259-61 by the master mason François under the direction of Pierre Mainier and Jean Mésot from

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. The village of Saillon appears to have been owned by the

Bishop of Sion The Diocese of Sion ( la, Dioecesis Sedunensis, french: Diocèse de Sion, german: Bistum Sitten) is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of ...

in the 11th century. However, in the 12th century the independent Barons of Saillon appear in records. They did not remain independent for very long, becoming more and more dependent on the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

for protection against the bishops. In 1221 Thomas of Savoy acquired most of Saillon from Aymo of Pontverre, a relative of the Saillon family. In 1231 the Saillon family exchanged Saillon Castle for a Savoy

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 ...

based in

Aigle Castle Aigle Castle is a castle in the municipality of Aigle of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. History The Barons of Aigle were first mentioned in 1179. At that time they had a small fortif ...

. Peter II of Savoy expanded Saillon into a large fortress to expand Savoy power against the bishop. Under Peter the old castle was replaced, the curtain walls added along with Bayart Tower. Peter also built several additional castles in the region including Saxon Castle which was across the valley from Saillon. In 1384 the peasants revolted against Bishop Eduard of Savoy and attacked both the Bishop of Sion's castles as well as the Savoy castles including Saillon. Later the castle was attacked and damaged when soldiers from the German-speaking Upper Valais invaded the French Lower Valais. During the 15th century members of the

Raron family Von Raron (French ''Rarogne'') was an influential noble family in the Valais (the bishopric of Sion) in the late medieval period. Related to the lords of Ringgenberg, the family held possessions in the area of Raron (''Rarogne'') in the 12th cen ...

sheltered in the castle during the

Raron affair The Raron affair (German: ''Raronhandel'') was a 15th-century rebellion in the Valais (the prince-bishopric of Sion) against the power of a local noble family, the Raron family. The rebellion brought several cantons of the Swiss Confederation in ...

. In 1475 the castle was attacked and destroyed during the

Burgundian Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...

as the Upper Valais invaded the lower valley to fight the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...

who were allies of

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

. The castle building was destroyed completely though Bayard tower and the outer walls receiving less damage. After the destruction of the castle, Saillon remained the center of a '' vogtei'' under a

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

appointed by the victorious Upper Valais. It remained part of the ''vogtei'' until the 1798 creation of 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saillon Castle Castles in the canton of Valais Cultural property of national significance in Valais

History

See also

References

External links