June 1974. The ramparts of the castle of Montrond-les-Bains are stormed by the army. But this time, it is not enemy troops but rather the reinforcement of allied soldiers: the men of the 99th infantry regiment from Sathonay-Camp (Rhône) actually come to lend a helping hand to prevent the invasion of the site… Brambles.
About forty men to have the skin of the brambles
The idea germinated in the mind of Louis Bourbon, president of the association of Friends of the old castle of Montrond. Recently installed in his functions, he decided to call on the uniforms, as had already been done elsewhere in the region, in order to clear the ruins. “The appeal of those who want to save this castle of the 13th and 14th centuries from the brambles and total collapse was heard. And the 99th, commanded by Colonel Cottreau, delegated here about forty men from its first company.”
It must be said that in 1974, the fortress of Montrond-les-Bains had already been abandoned for almost two centuries. “Here, it was in 1793 that the bombs thundered. Walls fell and all the woods burned,” writes our journalist Raymond Rousset in The Tribune – Progress of Thursday June 27, 1974. “What resisted the cannonballs and the fire, after having been the property of the De Boissieu family, now belongs to Madame Dugas de la Boissony who rented this corner of stones and history to the association for an annual and symbolic rent of 10 francs »
.
A thankless and gigantic job
As early as 1969, the association undertook to restore the Montrond fort. “The dungeon was covered and found floors. When the problem of the staircase has been resolved, we will be able to set up a small museum and two rooms for exhibitions,” details our report from the time. At the same time, excavations were organized and made it possible to uncover the old kitchens and their three ovens. […]As for the soldiers, in the space of a week – after having exchanged the machine gun for the shovel, the pickaxe and the shears – they completely cleared the site of its vegetation and rebuilt some masonry. “They do not hide that this stripping of the site is, for them, of more interest than the sweeping of the barracks courtyard
They rebuild the low walls and also the reputation of the soldier who for a long time was blamed for so many ruins.
Since 1984, the castle has been the property of the commune of Montrond-les-Bains.
The castle of Arlempdes had already been saved by the army The original initiative for weeding the castle of Montrond-les-Bains was inspired by another project carried out, a month earlier, in another ruin in the region. In this case, it was at the Château d’Arlempdes, in Haute-Loire, that soldiers from Clermont had used elbow grease in order to free access to the ruins of an ancient fortress. This restoration work had thus created a precedent giving many ideas to lovers of old stones in the neighboring departments.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings