Château De Poncin
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The Château de Poncin is a former
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 ...
, now a stately residence, in the '' commune'' of
Poncin Poncin () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. It lies on the banks of the river Ain. History Of strategic importance during medieval times, Poncin is surrounded by city walls that are still in perfect shape despite their ...
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. The present
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
on the site was constructed from the mid-18th century; parts of the original castle remain.


History

Humbert II de Thoire built the castle at Poncin in 1180. It was one of the favourite residences of the lords of Thoire-Villars, who kept their court of accounts there. In 1290, it was rebuilt by Humbert IV de Thoire. On 19 October 1308, Humbert V, lord of Thoire and Villars, had it entirely remodelled and sold it, for 7,500 ''livres viennoises'', in
suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
to the lord de la Tour du Pin, Jean II de Viennois, ''dauphin'' of Viennois who returned it to him in ''
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
lige''. The rights passed in turn to the Counts of Savoy, recognised by acts of 16 October 1375 and 7 February 1385. On 29 October 1402, Humbert VII, last of the lords of Thoire-Villars, "heavy with years and troubles", sold the
seigneurie In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. '' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...
of Poncin to
Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began t ...
, along with all of his lands in
Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whic ...
and
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 ...
, keeping the use of them until his death, which came on 7 May 1423. The castle stayed with the House of Savoy for a century and a half. Poncin was forsaken by the Dukes of Savoy, who seldom went there. It was, among others, included in the dowery of
Anne of Cyprus Anne of Cyprus (or Anne de Lusignan) (24 September 1418 – 11 November 1462) was a Duchess of Savoy by marriage to Louis, Duke of Savoy. She was the daughter of King Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte of Bourbon; and a member of the ...
, widow of Louis, Duke of Savoy, and in that of Claudine de Bretagne, Viscountess de Bridiers (
La Souterraine La Souterraine (; Limousin dialect, Limousin: ''La Sotarrana'') is a Communes of France, commune in the west-central French Departments of France, department of Creuse. Geography La Souterraine is an area of farming and light industry, comprisi ...
), widow of the
Philip II, Duke of Savoy Philip II (5 February 1438 – 7 November 1497), surnamed the Landless, was the Duke of Savoy for a brief reign from 1496 to 1497. Biography Philip was the granduncle of the previous duke Charles II, and the youngest surviving son of Duke L ...
,
dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the n ...
of
Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...
, Châteauneuf in Valromey ( Songieu), Poncin and Cerdon, who made a residence of it for a time. In April 1513,
Charles III, Duke of Savoy Charles III of Savoy (10 October 1486 – 17 August 1553), often called Charles the Good, was Duke of Savoy from 1504 to 1553, although most of his lands were ruled by the French between 1536 and his death. Ruling for nearly 49 years, he is the ...
included it, with Cerdon and some other territories in Bugey, in the dowry of Philiberte de Savoie, his sister, Marquise of Gex and Fossan (
Fossano Fossano () is a town and ''comune'' of Piedmont, Northern Italy. It is the fourth largest town of the province of Cuneo, after Cuneo, Alba and Bra. It lies on the main railway line from Turin to Cuneo and to Savona, and has a branch line to Mon ...
), wife of
Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici (12 March 1479 – 17 March 1516) was an Italian nobleman, the third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and a ruler of Florence. Biography Born in Florence, he was raised with his brothers Piero and Giovanni di Lor ...
, Marquis of Suriane ( Soragna) and Chazene. She died in 1524 without children. Having made her brother her heir, Poncin reverted to Savoy. On 7 November 1531, the lordship of Poncin and its castle, with that of Cerdon, was given to Charles de la Chambre, Baron of
Meximieux Meximieux () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Geography Located 35 km north east of Lyon and 10 km south west Ambérieu-en-Bugey, the town is where the Dombes plateau meets the plain of the river Ain. Historic ...
and Sermoyer, in exchange for lands in Loyettes. On 18 September 1565,
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy Emmanuel Philibert (; ; 8 July 1528 – 30 August 1580), known as (; "Ironhead", because of his military career), was Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 17 August 1553 until his death in 1580. He is notably remembered for resto ...
, took de la Chambre's lands at Poncin and Cerdon in exchange for the lordships of Pérouges and Montréal, granting them in ''
appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
'' to Philip, Duke of Nemours. The Dukes of Nemour, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, made important modifications to the castle. Their descendants retained ownership until the 18th century. In 1601, the castle was entirely dismantled by
Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron Charles de Gontaut, 1st Duke of Biron (1562 – 31 July 1602) was a French noble, military commander, Admiral, Marshal and governor during the final days of the French Wars of Religion. The son of Marshal Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron who had ...
, on the orders of King
Henri IV Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
. In 1717, the land was given to Artus-Joseph de la Poype-Saint-Jullin who partially reconstructed. Around 1750, it passed to the Quinson family. Gaspard Roch de Quinson, wanting to install gardens, restored the terrasses for this purpose in 1760. The Quinsons still owned it at the time of the French Revolution. At the Revolution, the château was sacked and severely damaged. It remained abandoned for forty years, until a new mayor of Poncin, monsieur Jantet, bought it in 1831 to create a very beautiful
English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...
. The château then became the property of Joseph Savarin de Marestan who had been named ''conseiller de la préfecture'' of l'
Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...
. he came from an old Bugey family, ennobled at the end of the 17th century, which had provided a succession of bodyguards and musketeers to the king and had, in 1815 been given the title Baron de Marestan. The modern
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
is privately owned and not open to the public. It has been partially listed (façades and roof, remains of the ancient fortification, terrasses, supporting wall and gardens) since 1973 as a ''
monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
'' by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
.


See also

*
List of castles in France This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department. ;Notes: # The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poncin, Chateau de 1180s establishments in France Buildings and structures completed in 1180 12th-century fortifications Castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Ain Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy