Wohnturm Marsens (Puidoux)

The Marsens Tower is located in the municipality of Puidoux in the canton of Vaud. More precisely, the tower is situated in the Dézaley area within the Lavaux vineyard terraces.

It has a floor plan of 10.9 m by 11.4 m and possesses four storeys. Four loopholes, a bricked-up door on the southeast facade on the first floor, as well as a few small (also bricked-up) windows date from the 13th century. From the end of the 15th century, the building features a rising battlement, a truncated defensive oriel in the north corner, large cross windows on the southwest side, and a high door on the southeast facade. An old corner turret was truncated.

The tower was built in the 13th century by an unknown patron and came into the possession of the Bishop of Lausanne in 1273. From 1287, the tower belonged to the Francoz family, from 1356 to 1527 to the Counts of Gruyères, from 1527 to 1572 to the Lords of Plait, and subsequently to the Clavels of Cully and Ropraz. The Clavels retained the manorial rights but sold the tower and the vineyards in 1870 to the Naef family, who founded a family foundation in 1969 to preserve the tower in its current state.

From 1833 to 1896, François Naef restored the tower.