France · Restored
Fortress of Miolans
Château de Miolans
The Fortress of Miolans is a medieval fortress and former state prison in Savoy, France, sited on a long rocky ridge above the Combe de Savoie valley and the confluence of the Arc and Isère rivers. Built from the 11th century and extended through the 14th–16th centuries, it served as a prison from the 16th century until the French Revolution and is today preserved and open to visitors.
First raised
1083
Its prime
1772
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1772
What Fortress of Miolans looked like in its prime.
Long grey-stone fortress built along a narrow rocky ridge, with crenellated curtain walls and a mix of cylindrical and rectangular towers. Two prominent square towers wear steep, pointed (slate) roofs at one end while a large round tower with battlements stands to the rear; lower curtain walls enclose terraced courtyards and gardens visible between ruined sections. The masonry is pale limestone; the site looks outward over a wide valley and river confluence beneath wooded mountain slopes.
Its story
The story of Fortress of Miolans.
Miolans strategically controlled the route across the junction of the Isère and Arc rivers, on a site occupied since the fourth century AD. Documents of 1014 record the Miolans family, one of the oldest in Savoy, in possession, and in the second half of the 14th century the lords of Miolans extended the fortifications by completing a second tower.
In 1523 ownership passed to the Counts of Savoy, and Count Emmanuel Philibert transformed the fortress into a prison, a role it retained until 1792, and a notoriety that led it to be compared to the Bastille. Its most famous inmate got away: on 30 April 1772 the Marquis de Sade escaped with his valet Latour and the Baron Songy, leaving word praising the decency with which he had been treated and hoping his guards would not be held accountable.
In 1869 Eugene Alexander Guiter, Prefect of Savoy, privately bought the fortress from the French state and began its restoration. The fortress on its long rocky ridge above the Combe de Savoie is today preserved and open to visitors.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1772.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Fortress of Miolans, including 3 interiors: main dining hall (interior), room with unbarred windows adjacent to the dining hall (interior), subterranean dungeons (hell, purgatory, paradise, treasury, little and great hope) (interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Fortress of Miolans.
The families that held Fortress of Miolans for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Miolans
In possession of the Miolans family, one of the oldest in Savoy, from at least 1014 until 1523.
Savoy
Held by the Counts of Savoy from 1523; Count Emmanuel Philibert converted the fortress into a prison, a role it retained until 1792.
