Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Prelian's fort house, dated from the 14th century, was the heart of the seigneury of Prelian in the commune of Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu (Savoie). Originally owned by the Chevelu family, she passed to the family of Prelian in the 15th century, with François de Prélian marrying Jacquemaz de La Forest in 1420. A division in 1440 between Urbain and Claude de Chevelu concerned this Tower of Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu, while Claude de Prélian became secretary of Duke Amédée IX of Savoy in 1471.

In the 16th century, the seigneury remained in the family of Prélian, with figures such as François (procureur à Yenne in 1536), Claude (notary), and François-Antoine, married to Françoise d'Arcolllières. In 1598, Benoît de Prélian married Louise Drujon de Bergin; their daughter Jeanne brought the fief to the Arcolliers about 1660 by marriage to Caesar, lord of Prelian. In 1675 he attended a noble meeting in Yenne for the advent of Victor-Amédée II of Savoy.

The strong house underwent architectural transformations, including the addition of a house in the 17th century and a chapel founded in 1706 by Pierre Courtoys and Jeanne Gabrielle de Prélian. A fire in January 1979 destroyed a wing, damaging woodwork and French ceilings. Partially restored, it was still divided in 1907 between the heirs Héritier and Mr. Dullin, Yenne's councillor.

Architecturally, the fort house combines a 14th century tower-residence (the "Tour des Chevelu"), a 17th century house body, and a redent barn. The tower, which was once accessible by a Romanesque door today walled, is decorated with faux apparatus ubiquitous, blurring the hierarchy of interior spaces. A partially obstructed 16th-century door window remains as a witness to this time.

The archives reveal notarial acts and complex family alliances, such as the marriage in 1722 of Louis de Bornessant with Françoise d'Arcolliers, or the will of François Courtois d'Arcolliers in 1757, demanding that his bastard son be raised as a servant before learning a trade. The site, linked to the Savoyard nobility, illustrates the seigneurial dynamics between Yenne and Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu.

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