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Bosses Castle stands next to the Parish Church of Saint-Léonard in Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses. It is a solid monoblock building embellished by cross windows, with three storeys above ground. The fiefdom dates back to the twelfth century: it belonged to the homonymous family ‘de Bocha’, enfeoffed by the Lords of Quart.
After the tower was dismantled due to conflicts with the Count of Savoy at the beginning of the 13th century, historical records do not mention it until the 16th century. To that period can be ascribed the Castle’s present architecture. Until 1742 it belonged to the aristocratic family of Bosses.
Sold by the regional government in 1984, at the end of the nineteen nineties the Castle was the focus of a EU Interreg program, whose aim was to convert it into a transnational cultural centre dedicated to the ‘Pays du Grand-Saint-Bernard’ and the homonymous pass. The original aspect was restored, although the architectural interventions operated in the course of the centuries are still evident.The vast interiors, with modern outfittings, host exhibitions, conferences and cultural events related to the local history and art history.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.