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Origin and history

The Château de Groslée is a former castle built around 1180 by Jacques de Groslée, Sénéchal de Lyon, in the present commune of Groslée-Saint-Benoît (Ain). Originally built in the parish of Oilieux, it becomes a strategic issue between the Counts of Savoy and the dolphin of Vienna. Over the centuries, it was restored in the 15th and 16th centuries, then dismantled in the 18th century, leaving only its 12th century square dungeon, surrounded by a shirt and round towers adapted to firearms.

The seigneury of Groslée, erected in baronie and then in county in 1580 by Duke Charles-Emmanuel I of Savoy, changed hands several times. First owned by the Counts of Savoy in the early 14th century, it was sold in 1420 to Pierre de Bourbon before being bought in 1455 by Jacques de Groslée, nephew of Jean de Groslée, canon-count of Lyon. Groslée's family preserved the property until the 17th century, when it passed by alliance to the Cros, then to the Barral de Montferrat before the Revolution.

The castle houses a private chapel, where two weekly Masses are celebrated with permission from the Archbishop of Lyon. Its architecture combines medieval defensive elements (donjon, round towers) and Renaissance facilities. Ranked a historical monument in 1992, it bears witness to the feudal history of Bugey and the rivalries between Savoy and Dauphiné. Today, its remains belong to a private company.

The excavations and architectural descriptions reveal a complex organization: a courtyard girdled with walls, a partially preserved quadrangular dungeon, traces of residential buildings (slides with screws, chimneys), and a terrace supported by vaults dug into the rock. The site, although partially destroyed, offers a remarkable example of the evolution of castles between the Middle Ages and modern times.

The location of the castle, on a hilltop overlooking the Rhône, underlines its strategic role of river and territorial control. Its history reflects the political dynamics of the region, marked by alliances between noble families, changes in sovereignty (Savoie, Dauphiné, France), and architectural transformations related to military progress (adaptation to firearms in the 15th to 16th centuries).

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