Venthône Castle is a fortified tower in the village of

Venthône Venthône is a former municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Miège, Venthône and Veyras merged to form the new municipality of Noble-Contrée. Geography Ve ...

which is part of

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

Noble-Contrée Noble-Contrée () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sierre (district), Sierre in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Miège, Venthône and Ve ...

of the

Canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The castle tower probably dates to the 13th century. The knight, Peter of Venthône, is mentioned in 1243. He played a major role in the conflict between the

Bishop of Sion The Diocese of Sion (, , ) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of the Alps. The history of the Bishops of Sion, of the Abbey of ...

and Peter of Savoy. The tower is mentioned in 1268 when the child-less Peter and his wife gave their lands to William de la Tour and joined

Hauterive Abbey Hauterive Abbey () is a Cistercian abbey in the Swiss municipality of Hauterive in the canton of Fribourg. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire Hauterive area is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. Hi ...

and Maigrauge nunnery. Over the next century, the castle passed through several owners including other, related Venthône lines. By the 15th century the Venthône family had completely died out and the castle was acquired by the bishop of Sion. In 1421 it was owned by 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 cent ...

. In 1600 the citizens of Venthône bought the castle and began renovating it. In 1609 a large wood paneled

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...

was built, with a large stove from 1619. Since that time, the castle has remained the town hall of the municipality.

Castle site

The tower is a square fortified tower. Originally it had a cellar, a tall main floor, one upper floor and an attic. During the 15th century, while it was owned by the Raron family, a

stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

roof and

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s were added. In 1609 a wooden great hall was added between the main floor and about three-quarters of the upper floor. This addition reduced the height of the main floor and required blocking up the old windows and cutting new ones in the walls. The main entrance is located on the north-west side of the tower. It is about above ground level and was originally probably entered through a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

above a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. The stairs and entrance were rebuilt during the 15th century. There are two cellars, the larger southern one and a smaller northern cellar which has a

vaulted ceiling In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

References

Castles in the canton of Valais Cultural property of national significance in Valais {{Switzerland-castle-stub

History

Castle site

See also

References