France · 12th century
The Château de Varey is an ancient fortified castle, from the 12th century, restored in the 19th century. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-le-Vieux, one kilometer east of the town, in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
The façades and roof of the château are listed as a Monument historique by decree of 21 March 1983.
This very ancient lordship was the possession in 1150 of Guerric, Lords of Coligny and Revermont, under the suzerainty of the Lords of Thoire. In 1188, Humbert de Thoire made a confession of it to King Henry VI of the Holy Roman Empire.
According to Samuel Guichenon, around 1240, Varey passed from the Lords of Coligny to the Counts of Geneva, through the marriage of Marie de Coligny, daughter of Hugues de Coligny, Lord of Coligny-le-Neuf, with Rudolf, Count of Geneva.
In his will, Count Amadeus II of Geneva (second son of Marie and Rudolf) designated his son William as his successor and specified that his other sons, Amadeus, and Hugues of Geneva, would inherit the châteaux of Varey, Mornex, Rumilly-sous-Cornillon, and Cornillon, for the Vidomnate of Bornes, for the rights to the market of La Roche, and for the lands and rents that he possessed in Vaud, all on the condition that they could only alienate these castles and rights in favor of the heirs of the count".
In 1309, Amadeus II gave the Lordship in marriage to his daughter Jeanne of Geneva, first wife of Guichard, Lord of Beaujeu and Dombes, then it was withdrawn to be given to Hugues of Geneva, Lord of Anthon, his uncle, another son of Marie de Coligny.
The château was then considered one of the largest and strongest in Bugey. Edward, Count of Savoy, tried in vain to seize it by force on 7 August 1325, during the Battle of Varey, and saw his army defeated and almost annihilated by Guigues VIII, Dauphin of Viennois, who rushed to the aid of the place. Grateful for the service that the dauphin had rendered him, Hugues of Geneva recognized himself as the latter's liege man, and paid homage on 16 February 1334 from Varey, to his successor Humbert II of Viennois. The castle, considered important by the Dauphin, was purchased from Hugues de Geneva.
In 1349, it was acquired, along with the whole of Dauphiné, by Philip VI, the King of France, who died in 1350 and was succeeded by his eldest son, John II.
Text adapted from “Château de Varey” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Château de Varey ranks #7,385 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #690 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 756 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lyon, 53 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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