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Origin and history

Cordon Castle is an ancient 12th century castle located on a hill overlooking the Rhône in Brégnier-Cordon (Ain). He served as a watchman for the marches of the Savoy states and controlled a strategic path between Peyrieu and the Marches. Its ruins, at 240 meters above sea level, are part of a 16-hectare protected natural area, classified ZNIEFF for its rare limestone lawn.

Originally, the castle was the capital of one of the oldest orders of Bugey, linked to the seigneury of Savoy from the twelfth century. In 1137, Emperor Henry IV reportedly gave way to Amédée II de Savoie, although this fact is not historically confirmed. The Counts of Savoie held the suzeraineté and passed it on to the Beaujeus via the marriage of Auxilie de Savoie with Humbert III de Beaujeu, including Valromey in the dowry.

The castle changed hands several times through alliances and transactions. In 1248, Humbert V de Beaujeu hired Amédée IV de Savoie for a debt of 2,500 pounds. In 1285, Louis I of Beaujeu handed him over to Jeanne de Montfort, Countess of Forez, and then to Louis II of Savoie, Baron of Vaud. Jean de Savoie, the husband of Marguerite de Chalon, bequeathed him to his wife in 1366, before he was subdued to the family of Cordon, perhaps its founders.

In 1434 Amédée VIII de Savoie confiscated the land for felony to Aynard II de Cordon, who had revolted. The Cordons retained some land, but lost their seigneurial justice. Claude de Cordon, squire of Duke Charles de Savoie, partially recovered these rights in 1508, obtaining permission to erect forks that were patibular. The seigneury then passed to the Costas, then to the Dortans, before being sold in 1768 to Claude Sauvage, counselor-master at Dôle.

The castle, probably destroyed in the 17th century, then served as a stone quarry. Today, there is only one part of the wall in the enclosure, a sign of its strategic role in the region. The site is home to a protected dry lawn, a natural habitat threatened by European interest, dominated by erect bromine.

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