Château d'Annecy

Annecy Castle - main tower and fortified walls

The Annecy (French Château d' Annecy ) Castle is the former residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Nemours. It is located in the center of the eponymous town, the center of the Haute-Savoie region, which is part of the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. The castle was in 1953 bought by the city of Annecy from the possession of the Ministry of the Army, then restored and converted into a museum. It now houses the Musée -Château. The castle stands as a monument historique a historical monument since 12 October 1959.

Location

The spur castle sits on a rocky outcrop, a last spurs of the mountain Semnoz near the river Thiou on the western shore of Lake Annecy ( German Lake Annecy ), the second largest lake in France. It is located above the road from Geneva to Italy.

History

The castle was built between the 12th century and the 16th century. This time it was the seat of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Nemours. On several occasions the castle was damaged by fire in part to heavy. After the fire of 1320, the Annecy Castle was abandoned for two years as a residence and in that time under the reign of Amadeus III. rebuilt from Geneva. Since the 17th century it was used until 1947 as a barracks.