Château des Rubins – Observatoire des Alpes

The Château des Rubins, through its exhibitions (raising awareness of fauna and flora, impact of global warming on the mountains), its shop (highlighting local producers) and its activities (days dedicated to local artisans, highlighting materials destined to be thrown away: wool, plant fibers…), is committed to promoting more sustainable tourism.

Built in the 19th century as a fortified house, the Château des Rubins was spared by the Revolution and the fire of April 1840, XNUMX which ravaged Sallanches.

In the 16th century it served as a residence for the nobles of Loche, bailiffs of Faucigny. Its massive facades are brightened by large Renaissance mullioned windows. Its square tower is topped with a spigot roof resting on a crenellation. Its iron-clad ogival door gives access to a beautiful spiral staircase.

Transformed into apartments in the 1978th century, it was then purchased by the city in XNUMX.

In 1985, the Centre de la nature montagnarde (CNM) invested in the premises in order to design an interpretation centre for the alpine natural heritage, with presentations of biodiversity, educational activities and events, exhibitions and conferences. The renovation of the basement of the building and the various extensions carried out in 1997 appeared outdated and inconsistent with the heritage identity of the castle, which is why a major restoration was undertaken, with the aim of upgrading the interiors, bringing access for people with reduced mobility into compliance, and renovating certain openings as well as the entrance façade. The architectural duo Pierre Janin and the PNR workshop stepped up to the plate to achieve this ambitious objective.

After two years of work, the Château des Rubins – Observatoire des Alpes opens its doors in July 2021 with an innovative scenography made up of around fifty interactive modules spread over four floors and as many themes.

Some important dates:

1310: Hugues, Dauphin of Viennois and Baron of Faucigny, granted the inhabitants of Sallanches their first privileges, a sign of the town's prosperity.

1339: The parish had 15 strongholds and 20 noble families.

1563: At the end of the XNUMXth century, it belonged to the Loche family, bailiffs of Faucigny.

1754th century: it belonged to the de Chasseys who sold it in XNUMX to the chapter of the collegiate church of Sallanches.

1730: The Château des Rubins belonged to Etienne de Choulay

1747: The ecclesiastical institution (Chapter of Sallanches) acquired the castle from Philibert de Chasseys and Georgine de Menthon de Choulex.

1840: The Château des Rubins is miraculously spared from the flames of the great fire. It is also from this date that the castle bore the name of "grey cats" because three old ladies dressed in gray lived there.

1978: The castle is purchased by the City of Sallanches where the Mountain Nature Center is located until 2019.

1997: It will be modified and will have two additional levels with a gallery which will provide a link with the old building.

2021: After 2 years of work, it now houses the Alpine Observatory, a museum on the mountain, environment, ethnology, etc.