Château de Montréal

Montréal Castle (French Château de Montréal) is located in the Ardèche department in the heart of the former Vivarais province in the municipality of Montréal. It stands at a height of 289 meters on a rocky cone and dominates the town below. The hilltop castle got its name from this position: the Latin Mons Regalis means Königsberg and in the Middle Ages referred to higher positions from which the surrounding area could be dominated. The French Mont Royal developed from the Latin name and from it today's Montréal.

The castle's roots lie in a Romanesque defensive tower from the 12th century, which was built by the Balazuc family. Meanwhile the property of another family who called themselves “from Montréal” after the complex, the castle belonged again to the Balazucs from 1343, who then remained lords of the castle for around 300 years.