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Origin and history

The castle of Varey, built in the 12th century, was the seat of a powerful seigneury under the suzerainety of the Sires of Thoire. In 1150, Guerric de Coligny was the owner, before the fief passed by marriage to the Counts of Geneva around 1240. The castle, coveted for its strategic position, resists in 1325 an attack by Count Édouard de Savoie, repulsed thanks to the intervention of the dolphin Guigues V of Vienna. Hugues de Genève, recognizing, then gave up the castle to the Dauphin in 1334, before it was integrated into the French royal estate in 1349, then ceded to the Savoy.

In the 15th century, the castle changed hands several times: indeeded in 1410 at Boniface de Challant, Marshal de Savoie, it then passed into the hands of the Challant-Varey until 1556. After litigation and successive sales, it was acquired in 1563 by Prosper de Genève, then subedged in 1571 to Claude de Laubespin. The successive marriages of the heirs (from Ugny, then Beaurepaire) kept the fief in the Savoyard and Burgundy aristocracy until its sale in 1753 to the Dervieu family of Goiffieu, which kept it until the 19th century.

Damaged during the Revolution in 1793, the castle was restored in the mid-19th century by architect Fléchel. Its facades and roofs have been protected as a historical monument since 1983. In 2023, it was proposed to welcome migrants, illustrating a contemporary re-use of this medieval heritage marked by battles, alliances and dynastic transmissions.

Architecturally, today the castle presents itself as a polygonal enclosure flanked by circular towers, typical of medieval fortifications adapted to the defence needs of Bugey. Its history reflects the rivalries between the houses of Savoie, Geneva and the Dauphins, as well as the matrimonial and military strategies that shaped the region.

The seigneury of Varey, mentioned as early as 1188 in a confession to Emperor Henry VI, also embodies the links between local power and the great European dynasties. The will of Amédée II of Geneva (early 14th century) reveals the importance of the castle, included among the inalienable property of the family. Its acquisition by the king of France in 1349, and its transfer to Savoie, underscores its role in the political balances between kingdoms and alpine principalities.

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