Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de l'Orgère was built between 1909 and 1912 by Joseph Monin, trading in wood that became rich thanks to an inheritance of 3 million gold francs. Inspired by the ambition of joining the industrial bourgeoisie of Rives, he bought two hectares of land (old d'orge fields) and entrusted the works to local companies, except for sculptures made in Ardèche. The construction, interrupted in 1914 by the First World War, left the castle unfinished, looted with its central heating and missing finishes.

The architecture of the castle, designed by Olgiati, combines a round tower with panoramic views of Rives and the surrounding mountains, white stone foundations of the Échaillon, and a wooden frame by Marius Favre. The building has four levels: a garden ground with an Orthodox chapel and a dormitory for the Russians, a ground floor dedicated to common rooms, and floors reserved for family or individual housing. The gates and locks were made by the Barnier Establishments.

From 1924 to 1970, the castle will house more than 400 Russians fleeing the 1917 revolution, including White Army soldiers, students and families. These refugees, often employed in the BFK stationery (owner of the premises after Monin's ruin), lived there in autarcia, creating a library and an Orthodox chapel in the basement. Their presence marked long-term local history, with military training in the park and the port of uniforms in the city, exceptionally tolerated in France.

After the departure of the Russians in the 1970s, the castle, bought by the commune of Rives in 1984 for 1.6 million francs, was gradually abandoned. The park, open to the public, today hosts annexes of the town hall. In 2013, a photographic exhibition retraced the lives of Russian refugees, while access to the castle remains prohibited due to its state of degradation.

The preservation of the site was partly saved in 1974 thanks to a letter published in Le Dauphiné Libéré by Marie Thérèse Poncet, pleading for its acquisition by the commune. Despite attempts at dismantling, the park was spared and renovated, losing its fir trees but winning a medical and social centre. The castle, sealed, remains a symbol of the migration and industrial history of Rives.

External links