St. Martin’s Tower, which is 22 m high, was built around 1240. It dominates the Vallon des Vaux and offers a magnificent view to the observer. Along with a few other vestiges of the walls, it is the only surviving feature of an important medieval town.
It was the seat of a large manor in the 13th century. The site, the centre of which lay to the north of the present tower (keep), contained a castle and a town with a parish church, which was removed to Chêne-Pâquier in 1667. It was burnt down by the Bernese in 1536, and all that remains today are traces of the walls and a big quadrangular tower built around 1240.
On the east side of the tower, facing the interior of the castle, was the entrance door to the keep, 6 to 7 m in height.
The monument was classified in 1911and restored in 1965. For the last few years it has been the object of the benevolent attention of the State Council, a fact which has made it possible to re-open it to the public.
A metal handrail makes it possible to climb up to the top of the tower in safety and to admire the impressive landscape of the surrounding countryside, the lake and the Jura.
