Vue d'ici : Le château de Menthon

Hello everyone, welcome to VU D'ICI, the discovery show on 8 Mont Blanc. We are at the Château de Menton today, which dominates Lake Annecy with all its beauty. I join in a few seconds Dorian Antoine, responsible for the valuation of the château. See you right away, it's VU D'ICI. It's effective to make yourself heard. Hello. Yes, you saw, hello planet. Welcome. Thank you for welcoming us to the Château de Menton. With pleasure. So a place that we see everywhere when we are on the edge of the lake. How did this castle get there, on this little hill? Yes, if we see it so well, it's because we are here on a rock. A rock that culminates 200 meters above the lake. The first interest was purely strategic. It was above all to be able to dominate both the Bluffy pass, the Arabian Gulf, the lake, the village of Menton and the road axis Annecy-Faverge. Hence the interest of this construction, which originally has nothing of a village. It's a fortress. What era? The premises of this construction date back to the end of the 12th century. So at that time, the castle, well, you have to imagine that it has only three towers. The three towers are still there. The dungeon, which was the lord's lodging. Then you had the tower of weapons and the tower of the lake. Three towers that are separated. Who are the first inhabitants of the castle? Well, it's really a family adventure. Since from the end of the 12th century, so from the construction to our days, we find this same family. It is always the family of Menton, the Counts of Menton, who own this place. So to give you an idea, the genealogical tree is still significant enough, since we have 23 generations that follow each other in this family cradle. And we'll talk about it again. The family still lives in the castle. We are in the castle of Menton Saint Bernard. What is the place of Saint Bernard in this story? Well, Saint Bernard, Bernard de Menton, will be born here around the year 1000. And then he will devote his life to prayer, in order to build the hospices at the top of the hill, which will provide a place of rest for travelers and to get rid of all the banditry, all the bad spirits that haunt the place. Bernard will be known as Saint Bernard in the 12th century. And so he already has a place in this place, since the chapel is dedicated to him, it is under his vocabulary. A very beautiful chapel, very well maintained, by the way. Yes, a chapel that, just like the castle, will be remodeled over the centuries. And so here we go from a primitive 13th-century construction, which will be completed in 1908, during the last consecration. So in 1908, I think we are about the same time period for this kitchen, in which we enter. A rather incredible kitchen, because already there is all this part, I don't know what it's called, of columbarium, I don't know. Indeed, this kitchen, for the time, already has a certain luxury. And above all, a certain comfort. Let's not forget that we are in a room that is only for domestic use. Which means that for 1900, the year 1900, let's say, well, we're going to equip the room with a glassware, in order to provide a well of zenithal light that illuminates this whole room. And then there are the sliding balconies that connect one room to another. And there we see the refinement at the level of wood, but also of stone. And then there is one very atypical thing in this kitchen, that's what we're going to find behind you. Yes, in a castle, it is always useful to separate the domestic part, the kitchen, from the family part, the dining room. So here, well, the dining room is opposite in the castle, in the 18th facade that dominates the lake, which is the most pleasant. But in order to guarantee the heat of the dishes, well, the Menton family will think of this tunnel, this tunnel that connects the kitchen to the dining room. But measuring almost 20 meters, well, we're going to equip it with an iron path, with a wagon, all working with ropes and pulleys, allowing the heat of the dishes to reach the dining room. So ingenious as a system. Ingenious, it's the flat pass, but which is horizontal, contrary to what we often know from a vertical point of view. There, everything is on the same level. So we talked about the family, we're going to go see, there are rooms that look like this whole family story. Are you taking us? Absolutely, follow me. We saw the kitchen, the space of the servants. Now we're in the spaces of the family. Absolutely, this is really the family place, with its living rooms, its small living rooms, its different living rooms, so to speak. All the generations you mentioned earlier have lived here? Almost all generations are not necessarily born here. They didn't necessarily live their whole lives because of a professional career, for example. But all of them, in any case, well, they usually came at the end, at the time of their retirement, to this castle, to the relay after their father. What family is the de Menton family? Is it a family that is committed to the territory? Since we said it, the castle is everywhere. What family is it? Well, the de Menton family is an aristocratic family. The first traces will be around the year 1000, the beginning of feudalism, when these families, little by little, manage to have a dark wallet. And we have a family that will always have political roles, generally close to the court of Savoie, since we are here in the former county and then duchy of Savoie. Well, we will find, for example, governors of the county of Nice, we will also find chambelans, we will find councillors, ministers, but all will have a link around this sovereign family of Savoie. Later, after the 160s, during the last attachment between Savoie and France, well, we will find here, for example, ministers. We will find, in particular, the role of François de Menton, who, after the Second World War, will be a prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials, but also a minister under the Fourth Republic, president of the Council of Europe, and this until 1984, which means that it is a family that still marked even the 20th century. We are not talking about very old generations. In all the rooms of the castle, we find a mix at the level of the eras, in terms of decoration, furnishings, layout. What year are we in? Well, here, in what year are we in, it's very complicated to answer in one sentence. We are, if you will, on a building from the 18th century, redecorated at the beginning of the 20th century, with furniture elements from the 16th century, such as the Renaissance buffet, which is at the bottom, with others from the 17th century, the chairs, the 18th century, the Venetian mirror, but also the great tapestry here. At the end of the 19th century, we will find the piano, which is the most recent piece of furniture. So, if there is no ensemble, it is still a tribute to all these generations, these furniture that came either as heritage, or as a gift as well. Here we enter the Chamber of the Countess, which is a place that is visited. What does the public come to look for when visiting the Château de Morzon? Well, the public comes to look for a bit of a family atmosphere, a large house that is open to the public, but not a museum. Although there are some elements that could be in museums, this is not the case at all, since all the personal elements have remained, but also the layout is still a bit of a place of life. And we may be looking for a soul here, in any case, a place of life, around a screen that is quite exceptional, with a view of the lake, of the relief, and a building that is quite emblematic. Here, for example, what type of personal object will we be able to discover in this room? Well, what is moving in this room is that following the death of the last countess who took over the place in 1983... So it's still quite recent? It's still quite recent, absolutely. And so the family will make the choice to open it to the public, but a bit like a last tribute to freeze the atmosphere. So if we find the furniture that was chosen to make up the room, well, there are also the personal effects, notably the necessary correspondence of the countess Nicole de Menton, as well as her pair of glasses, but also some family photos. Another emblematic piece of the castle that we will now discover is the library. 12,000 books? A little more than 12,000 books, all prior to the French Revolution. And there, well, I think it's the most beautiful lesson in humility that we can have with all this knowledge of the 18th century that is brought together in one single piece through all these works. Let's go. Good evening. So the famous library. Yes, one of the emblematic pieces of this castle with this background composed of a little more than 12,000 books. This background is classified, which means that it is particularly precious. So, indeed, it has a historical interest insofar as all these works are prior to the French Revolution. The oldest printed ones date back to the middle of the 15th century. It's the printing era, so we have these incunables, these first works that could be printed. And then, among the pride, there is in particular the original edition of the Encyclopédie d'Hydro d'Alembert XVIII, which can be found in 28 volumes. It's here. You have 17 texts, 11 boards, which are here, but also at the time, one of the well-known titles is L'Histoire naturelle by Buffon. And here we find the 36 volumes of the original edition. So for its interest today, there is a protection for historical monuments, which makes it inalienable, which makes it indissociable. And that is a fundamental point. It is typically the libraries that were founded in the 18th century by what was called at the time an honest man. Honest who is interested in knowledge. And if you start to sow this library, it will lose all its interest. So it is really the background as a whole that represents this value. How was it constituted? It was really a family of scholars, of enthusiasts, of knowledge. Because I guess the 12,000 books didn't just pop up out of nowhere. You're wrong. Oh yeah? If this library is not the only one in the castle, the Menton family had acquired other libraries. This one still has a particularity. It is that it will come to the castle on the same day. It is a single heritage of countess. So at the beginning of the 19th century, you have a count of Menton who will marry a future countess who comes from Franche-Comté. And at the death of her parents, the countess brings back this part of this library. So big move. Big move, absolutely. We talked about the history of the castle, the castle of this family. Today, the castle of Menton is a place that is visited. We saw it. It is also a place where things happen. You organize, in particular, literary meetings because the setting is rather good. It is important to make this place live again. This castle must live, whether by respect, by duty. And then, still, houses like this have quite heavy loads. So you have to find a balance. So if it is open to the public since the beginning of the 20th century, little by little, the circuit has been enriched and there has been a diversity. So diversity, we find it through medieval weekends which are at the beginning of the year. Then there will be, at the end of October, literary meetings with conference cycles, with the highlighting of some works of this library. And in parallel, we find nocturnal visits, also visits that are theatricalized, in order to expand to as many people as possible, to give an interest to this castle for everyone, while still keeping an ethical side for this place. We do not do anything at the castle of Menton. And no, a place that inspires respect. There are these places that are visited and there are still lots of other places, I guess, to discover. And yes, the castle being always occupied by this family, there is a part that has remained for private use. And what I offer you as a little bonus, I can take you to a place that is a VIP place. With pleasure, let's go. So this is where we really realize the chance of being here. Absolutely. I wanted to appreciate the height and therefore the panorama. So here we are on a terrace that was built a few years ago. Here we are on the latest developments of the 1910s, if you will. So it's really these spaces of pleasure with this little terrace that is covered, that is sheltered. The castle in 30 years, since we have seen it over the years, it has evolved a lot. Oh, in 30 years, the castle is still in this same family, this family of mantles, with maybe exterior elements, in particular the vineyard that is in the process of being planted. Which is just at the bottom, by the way. Which is at the foot, absolutely at the foot of the rock on the coast, which will be able to develop a little more. And then gardens with green areas, green areas in particular. And then maybe elements that will be restored in the castle, which will highlight each detail. Well, thank you very much, anyway, for this visit. Thank you and it's a pleasure to welcome you again. Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed this visit in our company at the Château de Menton. We'll meet again in a few days for a new episode of View from Here on Ritemont Blanc. See you soon.