Bossonnens Castle (Ruin)

The origins of the Bossonnens lordship likely date back to the first millennium when the area was under the Abbey of Saint-Maurice. In the 12th century, it came into the possession of the Blonay family, who had the Bossonnens castle, with its square tower, built in the second half of the century. In the early 13th century, Rudolph I of Oron took over the lordship, and in 1221, a chapel of the Grand-St-Bernard chapter in Bossonnens was first mentioned. Under Amédée I of Oron-Bossonnens-Attalens, the lordship experienced its heyday in the late 13th century. Around 1260, he had a Savoyard-style circular watchtower built and founded a small village between this tower and the castle. However, the 14th century brought decline, division, and loss of independence. After the Oron family died out in the early 15th century, the lordship increasingly fell into disrepair. In 1513, Bossonnens fell to the Duke of Savoy. After the Reformation in 1536, Bossonnens became a Fribourg bailiwick, but in 1618, the castle was sold to a private individual and subsequently fell into ruin.