Clan Rising

Château de Sales

Château de Sales is a medieval castle ruin in the commune of Thorens-Glières in Haute-Savoie, France. It belonged to the Sales family from before 1249 until the early 17th century and was destroyed in 1630; a chapel was later built on the site where Saint François de Sales was born.

Recreate this castle →Defend this castle →

Its prime

1600

Today

Ruin

As it stood in 1600

What Château de Sales looked like in its prime.

Stone-built medieval residence set in the alpine foothills above the village of Thorens-Glières, appearing as a compact cluster of masonry buildings with steep rooflines altered by 15th–16th-century remodelling. By its prime the complex presented continuous stone façades and roofed residential ranges within enclosing walls, all of pale local stone, sitting amid pasture and mountain slopes and intact before its destruction in 1630.

Its story

The story of Château de Sales.

Cradle of the Sales Family and Birthplace of François de Sales

The Château de Sales stood on a promontory that the Flau separated from the village of Thorens, in what was then the Duchy of Savoy. It is known to have existed before 1249 and was remodelled in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the house had six high towers, three turrets and three ranges of lodgings.

It was the ancestral seat of the family of Sales, whose most eminent member, François de Sales, later bishop of Geneva, was born in the castle on 21 August 1567. He was canonised in 1665 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1877.

The Move Down to Thorens, 1551–1617

The saint's father, also named François, seigneur de Sales, Boisy and Novel, was maître d'hôtel to Prince Sébastien de Luxembourg-Martigues, whose daughter married Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, brother-in-law of Henri III of France. Confronted with the decay of his house, from 1551 he set about buying the neighbouring château de Thorens from the Luxembourg-Martigues, a few hundred metres below. The family had left the old castle for Thorens by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and in 1617 the castle was destroyed by fire.

Reprisal for Annecy, 1630

In 1630 French forces invaded Savoy. Count Louis de Sales, younger brother of the saint and captain-governor of the château d'Annecy, refused to hand that castle over to the troops commanded by Gaspard III de Coligny, maréchal de Châtillon. In reprisal his ancestral house at Sales was plundered and burnt, on the orders of Louis XIII.

The Chapel on the Ruins, from 1672

In 1672 three nephews of Louis de Sales, among them Monseigneur Charles-Auguste de Sales, prince-bishop of Geneva, raised a chapel over the ruins, on the precise spot of the room in which François de Sales had been born; its fittings include a seventeenth-century baroque retable. In the nineteenth century the architect Ruphy restored the chapel for Count François de Roussy de Sales (1860–1943), who had a vault added to receive the ashes of ancestors until then buried in the Saint-Sébastien chapel of the church at Thorens.

The chapel has been the necropolis of the Roussy de Sales family ever since. The last count of Thorens, Jean-François de Roussy de Sales (1928–1999), grandson of Count François, lies there with most of his forebears, and a cross facing the chapel marks the place where, by tradition, François de Sales was inspired to found the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

Nothing of the castle itself survives; the chapel alone marks the site, which has been protected as a classified site since 1982. The cadet branch of Roussy de Sales lives at the Château de Thorens below, open to visitors since 1960 — the neighbour with which the vanished Sales is often confused.

Step inside

5 places to explore in 1600.

The record describes 5 distinct spots at Château de Sales, including 2 interiors: main residential range and rooms, birthroom of saint françois de sales. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Exterior approach from Thorens-GlièresExterior elevation and silhouetteMain residential range and roomsBirthroom of Saint François de SalesView toward Château de Thorens

Build Your Own Castle

Recreate Château de Sales with AI to explore it.

The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1600, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.

Recreate this castle →Defend this castle →

Whose castle

Clans who held Château de Sales.

The families that held Château de Sales for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.

  • Sales

    Home of the Sales family from before 1249 until the early 17th century, when they moved to the Château de Thorens.

  • Roussy de Sales

    The ruins were restored in the 19th century for Count François de Roussy de Sales; the chapel is the family's necropolis.

Nearby

Landmarks within reach of Château de Sales.

Jet d'Eau, SwitzerlandFountainJet d'Eau25 km away

Questions about Château de Sales

What is the history of Château de Sales?

Château de Sales was the ancestral home of the Sales family before it was destroyed in the 17th century. It was known to exist before 1249 and was remodelled in the 15th and 16th centuries. The family moved to Château de Thorens in the early 17th century, while a chapel was built on the ruins in 1672 at the birthplace of Saint François de Sales.

What is inside Château de Sales?

Inside Château de Sales, the documented spaces are the main residential range and rooms, including the birthroom of Saint François de Sales. A chapel now marks the site of the former castle and contains a 17th-century Baroque altarpiece. A cellar was added beneath it as a burial vault for the ancestors of Count François de Roussy de Sales.

Where is Château de Sales?

Château de Sales is in Thorens-Glières, in the alpine Haute-Savoie department. It stood on a promontory separated from the village by the Flau or Flan. The site is in the administrative territorial entity of Fillière.

When was Château de Sales built?

Château de Sales was known to exist before 1249, although its first construction date is not recorded. The surviving historical account also records remodelling in the 15th and 16th centuries, so the castle developed in several phases rather than having one documented building year.

Was Château de Sales ever attacked or besieged?

Château de Sales was attacked and destroyed in 1630 during France’s invasion of Savoy. Louis XIII ordered the destruction in reprisal after Louis Sales refused to surrender Château d’Annecy to French troops. The ancestral castle was pillaged and burned, and it fell rather than holding out.

Which family or clan held Château de Sales?

Château de Sales was held by the Sales family from before 1249 until the early 17th century. They then moved to Château de Thorens, a few hundred metres away. The Roussy de Sales family later restored the ruins in the 19th century, and the chapel became their family necropolis.

What did Château de Sales look like in its prime?

In its prime, Château de Sales was a compact stone-built medieval residence with continuous pale-stone façades, roofed residential ranges and enclosing walls. It had six high towers, three turrets and three residential buildings. Steep rooflines reflected remodelling in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the complex stood among pasture and mountain slopes above the village.

Is Château de Sales still standing or is it a ruin?

Château de Sales is a ruin today, with a chapel marking the former castle site. The castle was destroyed in 1630, and the ruins were restored in the 19th century by the architect Ruphy for Count François de Roussy de Sales. The chapel and its associated spaces survive as the principal marked remains.

More castles of France

Château de Combourg, FranceChâteau de CombourgCastle of Brézé, FranceCastle of BrézéChâteau de la Roque, FranceChâteau de la Roque

Explore the city

Château de Sales stands in historic Annecy, explore the whole city through the ages

Annecy, FranceFranceAnnecyExplore it in 1610Paris, FranceFranceParisExplore it in 1250 · 1670 · 1789 · 1889Mont-Saint-Michel, FranceFranceMont-Saint-MichelExplore it in 1250
Explore historic Annecy through the ages · All castles of France · Castles of Europe · the best castles in Europe · explore the finished reconstructions.