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Origin and history

The Château de la Merlée is a building built between 1767 and 1770 in Blackétable, in the Loire department, by André Gabriel Gonyn de Lurieu. The latter, a member of a family established in Saint-Rambert-sur-Loire since 1377, was then owner of the fiefs of La Merlée and Collonge. This castle illustrates 18th century civil architecture in the Forez region.

The Gonyn family, divided into two branches (Gonyn de Lurieu and Gonyn de Forette), has marked local history. Thomas Gonyn de Lurieu, ancestor of André Gabriel, had acquired the fief of La Merlée in 1689 thanks to his marriage to Marie Tardy, granddaughter of Christophe Valous, a notable of the election of Forez under Louis XIII. This marriage strengthened the influence of the family in the region.

Although administratively located in Noirétable, the castle is often associated with Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert because of the historical ties of the Gonyn family with this commune. Local archives and studies, such as those of Colonel Le Mau de Talancé, underline its importance in the aristocratic heritage of Forez on the eve of the French Revolution.

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