Castle of Menthon-Saint-Bernard

Menthon Saint Bernard Castle is a picturesque Gothic castle in the Alps. She is associated with the figure of Saint Bernard. The building is concentrated in a small area. For this reason it is very high. Inside, you can admire the furnished interiors, including the 13th century kitchen and the library with a collection of manuscripts and incunabula.

The castle was built in the tenth century. Around 1080, Saint Bernard was born in it, the patron of skiers, mountaineers and mountain rescuers. Every year celebrations are commemorated here. The castle has retained its Gothic, fortified exterior. However, the interiors were rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries into a fashionable magnate residence.

The castle is open to visitors during the summer. You can see rooms furnished in the Renaissance, Classicist and Louis XIII and XIV styles. Expensive tapestries hang on the walls, mainly from workshops in Aubusson. In the great hall you can admire the painting collection from the 16th to 19th century. The collections of the local library, containing medieval manuscripts and books from the first years after the invention of printing, are very valuable. In the season, the castle employs actors who recreate scenes from the lives of former residents in front of visitors.