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Origin and history

The fortress of the Grand Mercoras, located in Ruffieux en Savoie, dates from the 14th century and was the heart of the seigneury of Mécoras in the Middle Ages. It originally belonged to the Montfalcon family, established in Chautagne since the 11th century. The site, with its outbuildings (Petit Mécoras and Château de Lapeyrouse), depended on the château of Chautagne. In 1370 Henry de Montfalcon, lord of Flaxieu by marriage, was the first certified owner. His descendants, including Hugonin (the squire of Yolande de France, who died in 1500) and Georges (the husband of Anne de Conzié), succeeded each other until the 16th century. On the death of François de Montfalcon, the castle passed to his nephew Louis, then to Andréanne de Breuil, widow of Jean de Montfalcon (Governor of Savoie, died in 1591).

Confiscated in the Revolution, the house was sold as a national property in 1795 to Claude Girod, whose family preserved it until the 20th century. In 1920, it was acquired by its farmers, then in 1964 by Paul Feuga, a Lyon industrialist descendant of the Girod-Montfalcon, who restored it. The monument, partially inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1969, consists of a quadrangular enclosure, a 15th century house body enlarged to the 16th century, and a polygonal turret housing a spiral staircase. Communes, built in 1607, complete the whole, once surrounded by orchards, vineyards and a chapel.

Architecturally, the fort house combines defense and habitat: shingles windows, tufa stone fire openings, and regional flat tile roofs. The lower broken arch entrance door and the turret (recast in 1986) reflect successive adaptations. The site illustrates the evolution of Savoyard fortified houses, moving from a seigneurial place of power to a rural residence, while retaining military elements characteristic of the Late Middle Ages.

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