The Château d'Annecy is a restored castle which dominates the old French town of Annecy in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Ann ...

'' département''. It was bought by the town, restored and transformed into a museum, ''le musée-château d'Annecy''. The castle is listed as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

since 1959. Château

History

The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. It served as the residence of the

Counts of Geneva The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles (Arelat) which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. History Several nobles had held the title of a ...

and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours. Several times the victim of fires, the castle was abandoned in the 17th century and later repaired to serve as a barracks until 1947. The town of Annecy acquired the castle in 1953, restored it with the help of

Monuments historiques ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

and installed a museum there. Since 1993, the Tower and the ''Logis Perrière'' have housed an observatory (''l'Observatoire régional des lacs alpins'').

Description

The ''Tour de la Reine'' (Queen's Tower) is the oldest part of the castle, dating from the 12th century. Its walls are over 4 m (13 ft) thick. At the bottom of the courtyard, the tower and the ''Logis Perrière'' date from the 15th century. Other notable parts of the castle are: the ''Vieux Logis'', the '' Logis Nemours'', the ''Logis Neuf''. From the castle terrace there is a view over the old town with its narrow streets and decorated roofs. The museum is installed in the ''Logis Vieux'' and the ''Logis Nemours''. The observatory is in the Tower and the ''Logis Perrière''.

Museums

Of particular note is the Museum of Alpine Popular Art (''Musée d'art populaire alpin'') with numerous regional sculptures and paintings. There is an important collection of

vernacular furniture A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

, dating from the 15th century onwards, sculpted objects, photographs and models of Alpine chalets.

Observatory

''L'Observatoire régional des lacs alpins'' (Alpine Lakes Regional Observatory) includes exhibitions covering: * archaeological evidence of the first lakeside inhabitants * aquariums with fish from different types of mountain lake * model of

Lake Annecy Lake Annecy (french: Lac d'Annecy, ) is a perialpine lake in Haute-Savoie in France. It is named after the city of Annecy, which marks the start of the Thiou, Lake Annecy's outflow river.Jean-Daniel Stanley and Thomas F. Jorstad, ''Direct Sedime ...

and its mountain environment * models showing the evolution of boats on the lake * fishing equipment used in the Alps * birds

References

External links