France · 14th century
The Château de la Barre is a residence in the commune of Brégnier-Cordon in the Ain département of France. It stands on the western slope of the Mont de Cordon.
The main building dates from the 20th century, but the fortifications date back to a 14th-century castle. The château was originally a court of justice and a toll collection centre, hence its name "La Barre".
The Château de la Barre belonged to the House of Cordon, who moved here following the destruction of the nearby Château de Cordon. Its position above the Rhône allowed it to command traffic on the river.
The castle was the scene of a scandal involving a young seminarian from the village of Brangues, Antoine Berthe, engaged by the Duke in 1826 as tutor to his children. Berthet had seduced the young Henriette de Cordon, leading to his dismissal. Convinced that his former mistress, the wife of the mayor of Brangues, was behind his dismissal, he shot her in the church at Brangues. Arrested and condemned to death, he was executed in Grenoble in 1828.
Stendhal, who was familiar with courts and judicial affairs, was inspired by the story to write his novel, Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black).
Text adapted from “Château de la Barre” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Château de la Barre ranks #8,064 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #765 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 55% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Annecy, 49 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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