Château de Sales, Medieval castle ruins in Thorens-Glières, France.
Château de Sales is a ruined medieval castle in the commune of Fillière, in the Haute-Savoie department of France. What remains today are the foundations of the original structure and a 17th-century chapel that still stands on the grounds.
The castle served as the ancestral home of the de Sales family and was ordered demolished in 1630 by King Louis XIII after the family lord refused to surrender another fortress during a royal military campaign. The chapel was built in 1672, decades after the castle itself had already been destroyed.
The chapel stands on the exact spot of the room where Francis de Sales was born on 21 August 1567; he became bishop of Geneva, was canonised in 1665 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1877. Three of his relatives, including Charles-Auguste de Sales, prince-bishop of Geneva, had it built in 1672. Inside is a 17th-century baroque altarpiece, and the building has served as the burial place of the Roussy de Sales family.
The chapel stands on a promontory separated from the village by the Flau stream, so the approach is on foot. The site is classified and the chapel interior holds a 17th-century baroque altarpiece; the building is not a museum with fixed opening hours. The cross opposite the chapel marks the spot linked to the Visitation order.
The chapel stands on the exact spot of the room where Saint Francis de Sales was born on 21 August 1567. Opposite it, a cross marks where he is said to have been inspired to found the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.
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