Monthey

The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 as Montez. At the 13th century, the counts of Savoy owned the village and its area. In 1352, the count Amédée VI gave more freedom to the inhabitants. During the first part of the 14th century, there were several industries including silk production and grinding mills.

Monthey has an area, as of 2009, of 28.6 square kilometers . Of this area, 7.86 km2 or 27.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.91 km2 or 45.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.47 km2 or 19.1% is settled , 0.43 km2 or 1.5% is either rivers or lakes and 1.91 km2 or 6.7% is unproductive land.

Wikipedia