Monthey

Monthey lies in the lower Valais near the Rhône valley and the route toward Lake Geneva. It was a Savoyard châtellenie until 1536, when the Valais dizains took control of the lower valley. After a dispute in 1546, they seized the castle, which became the governor's residence. The castle and part of the town burned in 1606; Governor Antoine Waldin had it rebuilt in 1607. Monthey remained subject to the Valais dizains until 1798, when the old regime ended. Later political changes brought it into the Helvetic Republic, the Republic of Valais and, for a time, the French department of Simplon. A glassworks founded in 1821 marked the development of new manufactures alongside older valley occupations.