Montorcier, Castle ruins in Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas, France

Montorcier is a former lordship whose seat stood on the hill now called Frustelle, above the Drac valley near Pont-du-Fossé. Only a few ruins remain, among them a low dry-stone wall of grey, irregular blocks running diagonally across the slope, with fallen branches and a large piece of weathered wood lying in front of it and green vegetation growing among the stones.

The first recorded allod of Montorcier dates to at least 973, already including Chabottes, Champoléon and Orcières. On 9 September 1303 the Dauphin de Viennois bought the castle, and in 1319 granted a charter of liberties to the lordship's inhabitants. Dauphin Humbert II made it a lavish residence; his only son died there, prompting him to sell his lands to the king of France. Louis II, later Louis XI, stayed frequently and in 1442 authorised an irrigation canal from Pont-du-Fossé to Saint-Laurent.

Montorcier is the French form of Mons Orsierus, "bear mountain", the old name of the hill above the Drac, now called Frustelle. Two parishes shared the site: Saint-Jean, west of the Brudou stream, and Saint-Nicolas, beside the castle. After the destruction of 1692 and the religious wars, Saint-Nicolas was rebuilt in 1750 at the Reynauds hamlet; only its panelle, an open bell tower, survives and serves the present church.

The ruins stand on the hill called Frustelle, above the Drac valley near Pont-du-Fossé in the commune of Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas. The site is reached on foot; the surviving wall is a low, dry-stone line with fallen branches and a large weathered piece of wood in front of it. The church of Saint-Nicolas was rebuilt in 1750 at the hamlet of Les Reynauds, and only its panelle, an open bell tower, remains on the hill.

The hill that carried the castle is now called Frustelle, or Frustel, and keeps only a few ruins; the name Montorcier francises Mons Orsierus, the mountain of bears. The lordship's first recorded allod reaches back to at least 973 and already covered Chabottes, Champoléon and Orcières. In 1792–1796 the commune of Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas was briefly renamed Montorcier.