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Origin and history

The Château de Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, built in the 11th century as a castral motte, was profoundly renovated in the 15th century. It served as a centre for the seigneury of Châtillon and as the capital of the Bresse, under the successive authority of noble families such as the Châtillons, the Beaujeus, and then the Savoys. Its ruins, inscribed in 1927, overlook the city from a hillside bathed by the Chalaronne, illustrating its strategic and defensive role.

In the 11th century, the castle belonged to Hugues de Châtillon, an ancestor of an influential lineage whose members participated in the crusades (1108) or became bishops, like Étienne de Châtillon, canonized after his death in 1208. The seigneury changed hands several times: alienated to the Beaujeus around 1101, she passed to the Bâgé in 1228, then to the Counts of Savoy in 1272, who kept it until 1535, the date of his conquest by François I.

The Castral chapel, dedicated to the Holy Vierge from the twelfth century, was ceded to the Abbey of Ainay and confirmed by several popes (1135, 1153, 1250). The site, now in ruins, preserves brick flanking towers and walls. After 1535, the castle became a political issue: alienated to Étienne de la Forge (1555), returned to La Savoie (1559), then erected as a county for Jean-Louis de Costa (1561), before being sold to Lesdiguières (1615) and then to Orléans (1645). In 1715 his remains were partially ceded to the Ursulines.

In the 14th century, the captain of the castle used guard dogs for surveillance, while in 1409 Amédée VIII de Savoie received the tribute of Philippe de Bourbon and established there the statutes of the order of the Annonciade. The site, a communal property since its inscription, recalls the military and religious importance of Châtillon in the history of the Dombes and Bresse.

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