Château de la Rochette, Medieval castle in Valgelon-La Rochette, France.

Château de la Rochette is a castle complex on a rocky spur above the Gelon, in Valgelon-La Rochette. Its main block is a tall rectangular building with pale grey-white walls, rows of dark windows and a steep dark grey pitched roof; lower wings with grey roofs and a small square turret join it, and a square tower with a steep pyramidal roof and corner pinnacles rises between the wings. The 1877 corner watchturrets are still visible.

Built in the 12th century on the rocky spur above La Rochette, the castle was first held by Hugon de Rocheta, mentioned in 1153, who co-founded the Saint-Hugon charterhouse in 1170. In 1597 Henri IV sent Lesdiguières to besiege it: the town fell on 14 July and the castle two days later. Louis XIII ordered a new siege and the castle's destruction in 1630. Maurice-Philibert Rey restored it in 1842 and added the corner watchturrets in 1877.

The name La Rochette comes from the rocky spur, a "rochette", on which the castle was built to protect the town. From the first half of the 20th century it housed a medico-educational institute, which occupied it until 2021. The building then passed to the Savoie department and later to the commune.

The castle stands on a rocky spur on the right bank of the Gelon, where the river loops north before turning east again. Access is via a stone bridge over the remains of the southern ditch, possibly on the site of an old drawbridge. The ground is uneven; wear suitable shoes.

The 1597 siege was led by François de Bonne de Lesdiguières for Henri IV: the town fell on 14 July and the castle two days later. Louis XIII ordered a new siege and the castle's destruction in 1630. Medieval remains include a round tower to the north-east and a ditch to the south-east, south and south-west, crossed by a stone bridge that may have replaced a drawbridge.