Montmelas-Saint-Sorlin () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Buildings

Château of Montmelas

The first written records of the existence of Château de Montmelas date from the 10th century. The place belonged to the Sires of Beaujeu who set up a garrison there to defend the South of their territory. Built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the entire region, the garrison enjoyed a strategic defensive position. In 1566 the Château de Montmelas was sold to Jean Arod. He died in 1593 during an assault on the fortress during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

. In 1766, Blaise Arod, Marquess of Montmelas, married

Marguerite-Catherine Haynault Marguerite-Catherine Haynault (1736–1823) was a French noblewoman, mistress to Louis XV of France from 1759 to 1762.Sylvia Jurewitz-Freischmidt: Galantes Versailles – Die Mätressen am Hofe der Bourbonen. Katz Casimir Verlag, She was born in ...

, mistress of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. She lived in Montmelas until her death in 1823. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Gaspard de Montmelas, Blaise's younger brother, was imprisoned in Lyon; a delegation of villagers took the road to deliver him. Since 1566 the family's successors have passed on the castle until they joined the Harcourt family, owner of the castle today. The Château de Montmelas is a private property which can be visited and which produces

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which mak ...

wine. Description of the building: Built in the 12th century, the castle was profoundly altered over the centuries and in particular in the 19th century, after 1828, by Louis Dupasquier, a contemporary Lyonnais architect of Viollet-le-Duc, from a drawing of the 17th century. It nevertheless retained many elements from the 15th and 16th centuries and the work aimed to restore a complete medieval fortress. The castle is surrounded by a vast park, a

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...

and a crenellated exterior wall. There remains of the medieval castle a cylindrical

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

which dominates a quadrangular enclosure provided with the angles of watchtowers, as well as a vast fenced poultry yard.

Saint-Bonnet Chapel

This Romanesque chapel was built in the 12th century. It was classified as a Monument Historique in 1981 (a distinction given to some national heritage sites in France). It is situated on the top of the Saint-Bonnet hill, overlooking the whole Rhône and Ain departments, from Mâcon in the North to Lyon in the South, and to the Alps in the East. The Mont-Blanc can even be seen on sunny days. An association called "Autour de la chapelle Saint Bonnet" was created in 2019 to raise funds to restore the building that has been crumbling down over the years.

Demographics

The inhabitants of Montmelas are called the Montmelassiens, Montmelassiennes."Communes"
/ref> The population has been on the rise since the 1960s, after a century of sharp decline. The retirement home La Clairière accounts for a sizeable part of the population.

References

*https://www.chateaudemontmelas.fr/ Communes of Rhône (department) Beaujolais (province) {{Rhône-geo-stub

Buildings

Château of Montmelas

Saint-Bonnet Chapel

Demographics

See also

References