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Origin and history

Soirié Castle, also known as Soyrier or Soirier, is a medieval castle built in the early 11th century in the commune of Groisy in Haute-Savoie. Its ruins, located on a wooded spur overlooking the village of Plot, overlook the confluence of two streams. This strategic site housed a dungeon and a recept (advanced defensive enclosure), characteristic of feudal fortifications. The first written mentions, such as that of 1007, associated with a family of local lords, the Soyrier, vassals of the Counts of Geneva.

In the Middle Ages, the castle played a central role in the conflicts between Savoyard and Delphinal principalities. In 1329 the lords Peter and Henri de Soyrier paid tribute to Count Amédée III of Geneva. Three years later, in 1332, the castle was taken over by the Savoyard troops after being occupied by Hugues de Genève, allied with the Dauphin of Vienna. The châtellenie accounts of 1332-1333 reveal work to strengthen fortifications after this reconquest, illustrating its military importance.

The seigneury of Soirié changed hands several times: passed to the Menthon-Lornay in 1396, then to the Luxembourg-Martigues (1515-1567), it was sold to the Fornerat and Lambert de La Roche families, who kept it until the French Revolution. In 1792, the occupation of the Duchy of Savoy by revolutionary troops marked the beginning of its decline. The ruins, already degraded, were definitely destroyed by a fire in 1920. Today, there are only remains of his seigneurial and strategic past.

The Soirié toponym (or its variants Soyrier, Soirier) appears in a variety of medieval documents, such as the Régeste Genevois (1866) or Annecy's chestnut accounts (1331-1332), reflecting its anchor in local history. The castle was the centre of a letter from the Counts of Geneva, called vidomnat des Bornes, highlighting its administrative and judicial role in the region.

Historical sources, such as the works of Henri Baud or Pierre Duparc, confirm its importance in the political dynamics of the medieval Savoy. Despite its almost total disappearance, Soirié Castle remains a symbol of feudal struggles and seigneurial organization in the Northern Alps.

Its location, on a rocky spur, and its remains (donjon, recept) recall defensive construction techniques from the 11th to the 14th century. The gradual destruction of the site, accelerated by the 1920 fire, makes it today a study object for historians of Savoyard military architecture.

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