{{Short description|20th century fortification on the edge of Lake Geneva, Switzerland}} {{Infobox military installation | name = Fort de Chillon | partof = | location = Western Switzerland | coordinates = {{coord|46|24|51|N|06|55|45|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | image = File:Autoroute de Chillon A9.jpg | caption = The fort is in the hillside between the autoroute viaduct and the lower road, opposite Chillon Castle | map_type = Switzerland | map_size = 300 | map_alt = | map_caption = | type = | code = | built = 1942 | builder = | materials = Rock excavation | height = | used = | demolished = | condition = Preserved | ownership = Private | open_to_public = Yes | controlledby = Switzerland | garrison = | current_commander = | commanders = | occupants = | battles = | events = }}
The '''Fort de Chillon''' is a twentieth-century fortification directly adjacent to the medieval Château de Chillon on the edge of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The fort secures the road and rail lines that pass along the lakeshore running east from Lausanne to the mountainous interior of Switzerland. The position is an advanced work protecting the approaches to Fortress Saint-Maurice, part of the Swiss National Redoubt. Deactivated as a military post in 1995, it is privately owned and has been converted into a museum.
==Description== The Fort de Chillon lies directly adjacent to the Château de Chillon, a major tourist attraction. The site has been fortified since at least the 12th century. The Fort de Chillon is a mixed infantry-artillery fort, located almost entirely underground in the steep slope rising to Veytaux above the rail line.<ref name="litroz7"/><ref name="litroz1">{{cite web |last=Moret |first=J.C. |title=Fort de Chillon A390 |url=http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=f17 |publisher=Association Fort de Litroz |access-date=4 January 2011 |language=French |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706232631/http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=f17 |url-status=live }}</ref> The location is spanned by the Viaduc de Chillon. Built at the opening of the Second World War (1941),<ref name="fort_chillon">{{cite web |last=Clement |first=V. |title=Fort de Chillon |url=http://www.fortdechillon.ch/ |publisher=Fort de Chillon |access-date=1 August 2012 |language=French |archive-date=11 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111155724/http://www.fortdechillon.ch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it was armed with a mixture of 75 mm guns and 90 mm anti-tank guns.<ref name="litroz8">{{cite web |last=Moret |first=J.C. |title=Les fortifications du Chablais |url=http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=f17 |publisher=Association Fort de Litroz |access-date=4 January 2011 |language=French |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706232631/http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=f17 |url-status=live }}</ref> Initial work was completed in 1942. The fort was designated A390 in the Swiss fortification nomenclature.<ref name="litroz1"/> The ensemble included permanent and rapidly deployable anti-tank obstacles, designed to stall or trap an enemy while the fort's weapons fired on them.<ref name="vaud1">{{cite web |title=Position de Barrage Chillon |url=http://www.ar.admin.ch/internet/armasuisse/de/home/themen/Immobilien/historische.parsys.0020.downloadList.00201.DownloadFile.tmp/vdge.pdf |work=Monuments militaires dans les cantons de Vaud et Genève |publisher=Swiss Ministry of Defense, Public Protection and Sports |pages=38–39 |language=French |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726135626/http://www.ar.admin.ch/internet/armasuisse/de/home/themen/Immobilien/historische.parsys.0020.downloadList.00201.DownloadFile.tmp/vdge.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26}}</ref>
The fort was initially armed with two 75 mm anti-tank guns for direct fire, replaced with 90 mm guns in 1962. Two other 75 mm guns were retained until 1978. Two additional 90mm guns and five machine guns completed the offensive armament. Defensive arms included two machine guns each at the Rocher de Veytaux and Montagnette, with three at Champ-Babaud, along with two 81 mm mortars. Infantry bunkers command the road and rail lines adjacent to the castle, linked to the main fort by underground galleries.<ref name="litroz1"/><ref name="asso1">{{cite web |last=Croset |first=Alain |title=Petit mémoire sur le fort de Chillon |url=http://www.assovaud.ch/spip.php?article129 |work=ASSO-Vaud |publisher=Association Suisse de Sous-Officiers, Vaud |language=French |access-date=2011-01-10 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115222810/http://www.assovaud.ch/spip.php?article129 |archive-date=2013-01-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Fort de Chillon was manned by units of Mountain Brigade 10.<ref name="vaud1"/> The garrison comprised 131 men. Nine detached bunkers were provided for infantry forces defending the surface of the installation.<ref name="litroz1"/>
This position was covered from the direction of Saint-Maurice by the Fort de Champillon, an artillery fort. The Chablais plain to the south was covered by additional fortifications. The Chablais and Chillon ensembles were not considered part of Fortress Saint-Maurice proper, but were important advance works to delay and weaken an attacker before they reached the Saint-Maurice stopping line, or ''fort d'arrêt''.<ref name="litroz5">{{cite web |last=Moret |first=J.C. |title=Le terrain |url=http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=c18 |publisher=Association Fort de Litroz |access-date=4 January 2011 |language=French |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706232609/http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=c18 |url-status=live }}</ref> The entire region is fortified with anti-tank barriers, permanent minefields and other barriers, while tunnels, bridges and retaining walls are mined or prepared for demolition.<ref name="litroz7">{{cite web |last=Moret |first=J.C. |title=Articulation du dispositif du Chablais |url=http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=c15 |publisher=Association Fort de Litroz |access-date=4 January 2011 |language=French |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706232625/http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=c15 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Present status== thumb|right|Plan of the fort, with casemates in magenta and tunneled positions in yellow As a result of the reorganization of Swiss fortifications under the Army 95 program, the fort was deactivated and declared surplus. Chillon was considered for purchase by the Canton of Vaud in 1998 and was briefly opened for public tours, with the intention of making it into a museum.<ref name="24heures1">{{cite news |last=Goumaz |first=Céline |title=Le Fort de Chillon s'ouvre au public: une première: Les touristes ne se doutent de rien |url=http://archives.24heures.ch/VQ/LAUSANNE/-/article-1998-09-1770/le-fort-de-chillon-s-ouvre-au-public-une-premiere |access-date=10 January 2011 |newspaper=24 heures |date=January 9, 1998 |language=French }}{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> However, the transaction fell through. The town of Chillon waived its rights in 2004, followed by the neighboring town of Veytaux. In 2010 the property was purchased by investors who planned to make the site a wine storage facility and tasting facility.<ref name="24heures2">{{cite news |last=Di Matteo |first=Karim |title=Le fort militaire de Chillon deviendra cave de prestige |url=http://www.24heures.ch/fort-chillon |access-date=10 January 2011 |newspaper=24 heures |date=February 11, 2010 |language=French |archive-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206004352/http://www.24heures.ch/fort-chillon |url-status=live }}</ref> Tours are available.{{cn|date=February 2024}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * [http://www.fortdechillon.ch Fort de Chillon] Official website of the Fort de Chillon {{in lang|fr}} * [https://archive.today/20130115222810/http://www.assovaud.ch/spip.php?article129 Article on the Fort de Chillon with diagrams] {{in lang|fr}} * [http://www.fortlitroz.ch/index.php?page=c9 Association Fort de Litroz] at Association Fort de Litroz {{in lang|fr}} * [https://archive.today/20121217142855/https://picasaweb.google.com/apsf.fortification/Chillon Visite humoristique du fort de Chillon] at APSF {{in lang|fr}} * [http://www.facebook.com/fortdechillon Fort de Chillon (facebook)] Official Facebook page of the Fort de Chillon {{in lang|fr}}
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Category:Fortifications of Switzerland built in the 20th century Category:Government buildings completed in 1942 Category:Military installations established in 1942 Category:Forts in Switzerland Category:1942 establishments in Switzerland Category:20th-century architecture in Switzerland