Château de Chaumont, Castle ruin in Chaumont, France

Château de Chaumont is a ruined stone fortress on a rocky promontory at 636 metres, above the Fornant gorges in Haute-Savoie. Its surviving walls include a jagged high section with a narrow slit and a lower wall with a small window. The site had two or three successive enclosures, and a quadrangular Romanesque keep of 11 by 9 metres, restored in 2009, stood at the highest point.

The castle is first documented in 1174, when the lords of Chaumont paid homage to the counts of Geneva. It became a Savoyard châtellenie from 1355, with accounts kept from 1356. In 1536 French troops took and dismantled it; it was rebuilt by Duke Emmanuel-Philibert, then attacked in 1589 and 1590 and razed by Louis XIII's troops in 1630.

The castle was the seat of a châtellenie, a comital district held directly from the counts of Geneva, whose accounts survive from 1356. In the 17th century the district's coat of arms bore three red truffles. The village at its foot received its franchises on 18 May 1310.

The ruin lies in a rural setting and requires some planning to visit, as access is not straightforward. It is advisable to gather information beforehand and exercise caution during the visit due to the structural condition.

The castle's name survives in the coat of arms of its former mandement, recorded in the 17th century as three red truffles. The site also kept the accounts of its châtellenie from 1356 onward, and excavations showed water reached the fortress through fir-wood pipes.