Château de Fallavier
Encyclopedia
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Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
département of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
The castle dates back at least to 1250. It was enlarged and reinforced in the 13th century by the counts of SavoySavoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, but was gradually forsaken and lay in ruins by the 17th century. Since 1970, under the direction of its last owner Gabriel Mérard, a group of volunteers have worked to restore the castle. Since 1992, the castle has belonged to the commune of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-References:*...
.
Architecture
The castle is built on the hill of Relong (altitude: 344 m) and dominates the scenery. A ditch (no longer present) and the outer enclosing wall (relatively well-preserved) delimit an area of 15,000 square metres. A second enclosure surrounds the buildings of the castle itself, placed against the northern wall of the outer enclosure. The circular keepKeep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
of 32 metres (only 25 metres survive to the present day) is placed in an angle to the east of the inner enclosure, and is isolated from the castle itself by a wall. A narrow staircase is dug in the wall of the keep in order to reach the top, from where one obtains a panoramic view of surrounding country. The ruined buildings around the castle are still impressive: of particular note are the chapel windows on the northern side.