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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Meillonnas, built around 1350 by Humbert de Corgenon, baili de Bresse, was the heart of the seigneury of Meillonnas. Originally owned by the Sires de Coligny, he passed successively into the hands of the Sires de la Tour-du-Pin, the dolphins de Viennenois, and then the Counts de Savoie, including Amédée V in 1289. Édouard de Savoie gave him to Humbert de Corgenon, who obtained the rights of high, medium and low justice. The castle, surrounded by ditches and with four square towers, symbolized the local seigneurial power, while sheltering a closed courtyard and military outbuildings.

Over the centuries, the seigneury changed hands through alliances and inheritances. In the 15th century, it belonged to the Seyssel, a noble family that erected forks in 1460. Françoise de La Chambre, by will in 1529, handed Meillonnas to his nephew Charles de La Chambre-Seyssel, on condition that he bore the name and arms of Seyssel. The land remained in this line until 1740, when Victor-Amé de Seyssel Asinari sold it to Nicolas de Marron, squire, for 61,900 pounds. This transaction marked the beginning of a new era, with the installation of a faience factory in the 18th century.

The castle underwent major changes, notably under Gaspard Constant Hugues de Marron and his wife, who made it a baronie before the Revolution. In the 19th century, one of the towers collapsed, but still remained three towers, walls, and a church backed by one of them. The 15th to 16th century murals, as well as the Renaissance buildings between the northwest tower and the east body, bear witness to its rich past. Ranked a historic monument in 2007, the castle, partly communal property, is not open to the public, although its adjacent plots and the old "pre aux pits" are protected.

The site was also home to a well-known earthenware, whose remains included calcining ovens and 18th-century furnishings, such as a kitchen and a building body modified in 1759–65. The northern access, formerly a French garden, was transformed into a workspace for the factory. This dual heritage, both military and industrial, illustrates the economic and social evolution of Meillonnas, linked to its castle since the Middle Ages.

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