The Château de Cordon is a ruined

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the '' commune'' of

Brégnier-Cordon Brégnier-Cordon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Ain Departments of France, department in eastern France. Geography Brégnier-Cordon lies 20 km south of Belley. It is located in a bend of the Rhône on the edge of Savoie (on the ...

in the

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of France.

History

The House of Cordon is one of the oldest in the historical region of

Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saôn ...

. They were invested by the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in the 11th century. Since then, the castle remained in the possession of the family, one of the oldest in

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. Ideally placed on a high point dominating the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, it served as a look-out post on the

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

of Savoy. It was seized in 1434 by Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, from Aynard II de Cordon who had taken up arms against his sovereign. The castle was dismantled and the Cordons deprived of the title of Lord of Cordon. Having later recovered the lordship of Cordon and justice, the Cordons resided at the Château de la Barre. The castle is situated on a hill (altitude ), dominating the plain of the Rhône below. Destroyed probably in the 17th century, it was later used as a quarry.

Architecture

All that remains is a part of the surrounding wall whose large openings dominate the Rhône.

References

11th-century establishments in France 1430s disestablishments in France 1434 disestablishments in Europe 15th-century disestablishments in France 11th-century fortifications Buildings and structures demolished in the 15th century Ruined castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Ain Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy {{france-castle-stub

History

Architecture

See also

References