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Origin and history

The castle of Quirieu, attested as early as 1141, is an ancient castle of the 12th century, renovated in the 13th and 15th centuries, located on a limestone hill at 300 meters altitude in the department of Isère. It occupied a plateau of 4 hectares, including a fortified medieval village and a 15th century strong house. The site, strategic, served as the border stronghold of the Dauphiné against the Savoy, with a port on the Rhône and a monetary strike workshop.

Built at the end of the 12th century, the fortress consisted of three towers (including a vaulted chapel in the Tower of the Oratory), courtines, a square dungeon, as well as a courtyard with oven, mill, attics and stables. In 1289, Humbert I of Vienna seized it before yielding it to his son John. The castle changed hands several times between Dauphinois and Savoyards, notably in 1293, when Amédée V de Savoie exchanged for other lands with Humbert I of La Tour du Pin.

In the 13th century, Quirieu became a prosperous delphinal mandation, with a toll on the Rhone and a papal bubble mentioning the church of Sancte Marie de Serreriis. In 1326, a local tax, the twenty-first, was introduced to maintain the fortifications. The village had 376 fires in 1393, but declined to 80 fires in 1429. In 1454, the dolphin Louis offered the land to Robert de Malortie, before it was sold to Charles-Emmanuel I de Savoie for 50,000 ECU.

After the Treaty of Lyon (1601), the fortress lost its military utility and was dismantled around 1630 by order of Richelieu. Today, only a treed esplanade remains, remains of the village (such as the chapel of Sainte-Catherine, which became parish church in 1562) and the strong house, partially preserved. The site is animated by the association Imagine Quirieu.

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