Château de Rolle - Rolle

Château de Rolle is located on Place des Tilleuls, along Lake Geneva, in Rolle, Switzerland.  The castle dates back to the early 1260's and was intended to serve as protection for a planned city by the Lords of Mont.  Competition from nearby Aubonne and Saint-Prex pushed the Lords into action, however by 1264 the castle, then known as Castrum de Ruello, stood complete, hovering over the pier along Lake Geneva, without a city behind it.  The new city would not emerge until 1319 and would not be named Ruelloz until 1330.  Completion of the city took place under Amadeus V of Savoy who saught to unite the Savoy towns along Lake Geneva in an attempt to fend off the advances of the Lords of Vaud.  By 1558 the castle was under the control of Hans Steiger, a Bernese merchant, and the Baron of Rolle.  His family would retain the property until the French invasion of 1798, when the castle was appropriated by the new pro French Helvetic government.  It would remain a seat of government until 1974.  Château de Rolle has been declared a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance.  

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