Castle of Grilly

• History:

• The castle of Grilly is located in the French department of Ain, in the town of Grilly, 13 km from Nyon and Geneva. The building has been listed as a historical monument since 1987.
• Located north of the village of the same name on the D15 towards Divonne-les-Bains, at the intersection of the Route de Divonne with the Chemin J. Belay (cadastre B 91 and 92), the castle of Grilly was built on a site of a Roman period tower (50 - 45 BC) located in the center of a century of the colony Julia Equestris, only 13 km from its urban center Noviodunum (Nyon). This colony had been handed over to the veterans of one of the cavalry legions - the best known - of Julius Caesar, the Legio X Equestris, hence its name.
• On a flat area at the foot of the southern flank of Mont Mussy, from which the Grande Gouille stream descends, the castle of Grilly controls the junction of three old routes coming from Geneva, Gex and Nyon: the road going up to Mourex, the road by Geneva, and the road going to Coppet by the bridge over the Versoix, bypassing the tides of Prodon. A natural ditch protected it to the northeast.
• The castle of Grilly, listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments of France since 1987 (listed by order of February 18, 1987).
• The site was frequented in prehistoric times, then in Roman times. It is from the 11th century that date the first texts which make it possible to know the history of Grilly. In feudal times, the Lord of Grailly was a vassal of the Lord of Gex, dependent on the Emperors of Germany until 1501, Charles of Savoy from 1501 to 1536, under the domination of the Bernese from 1536 to 1564, the Dukes of Savoy from 1564 to 1589, from Geneva from 1590 to 1601, and from 1601 from France.
• This castle is the birthplace of the Grailly family, one of the oldest in the Pays de Gex. Girard de Grailly is the first lord of this line whose name is known to us: he is quoted in 1120. It is from the dynasty of Girard de Grailly that Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre and her son Henry IV of Bourbon will descend, King of France.
• In the 12th century, the castle, the center of a small stronghold, was a fortified house with a square plan, probably an extension of the 4th century watchtower - the Roman tower - flanked by rectangular keeps, a typical construction of the region, and it was probably surrounded by a wooden palisade. Claude de Grailly undertook in 1481 to build the current castle on the fortified house of his ancestors.
• The castle remained in the de Grailly family until 1592, then passed successively, by marriage and succession, to the families of Gingins, de la Forest and de Grenaud. The history of this stronghold ended in 1830 with the division and sale of the property by the Grenaud family.
• Charles the Bold passed by the castle of Grilly in 1476 during his retreat after the battle of Morat against the Swiss. Bernese troops set it on fire in 1536 and lowered the towers. Its restoration, during which it would probably lose the second floor, was undertaken in 1550 by Pierre de Grailly. In 1589 the Genevans occupied the castle. Jean Charles de la Forest began the transformation of the château in 1721. This restoration was completed by Joseph de Grenaud, Baron de Grilly, in 1779, the date given on the coat of arms of the staircase door.
• However, with the sale of the château in 1832 and the division of the property, a 150-year phase of abandonment followed - including the partial collapse of the roof and its occupation by the German army during the Second World War - which will cause the inhabitants of the region to forget the original allure of the castle.

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• Description and elements of architectural analysis:

• It is a plain castle, without natural defences, so it was surrounded by walls. Grilly offers the typical example of an 11th century castle, which underwent successive developments until the 18th century, partly to develop the residence, and partly to strengthen the defence. Established in the 15th century on a fortified house with a square plan dating from the 11th century, the old Roman tower from the 1st century BC, the structure of the castle is still recognizable, despite the modifications made to the openings during the 18th century. Well preserved, this castle has kept a rare stamp of authenticity. The bodies of three quadrangular towers stand at the northeast corner, on the northern facade and on the southern facade containing the staircase.
• The body of the main rectangular tower, whose walls are very thick and whose face faces the outside of the castle to the northeast, seems to be one of the oldest elements of the castle. This keep is a square stone tower which has survived on its Roman foundations until today. This architectural element, together with the 11th century facade, which today is incorporated into the living room, proven by the chronology of the junctions of the walls of the foundations on the ground floor, indicate to us the oldest part of the castle, the wing north. Indeed, the castles of the region were equipped with round towers only from the middle of the 13th century, under the impulse of Pierre II of Savoy and on the model of the English castles of Guyenne, as in the case of another castle strong existing at the southern entrance of Grilly, in the direction of Maconnex. The latter is not listed as a historical monument.
• The castle of Grilly, today two stories high on the ground floor, consists of a body of rectangular buildings flanked by three wings. An airlock is the only covered gallery between the ground floor and the door to the stairs leading upstairs. Beautiful Jacobins adorned the roof and a large 18th century wooden balcony existed on the west facade.
• In the middle of the southern facade is the square tower of the staircase. You can still see some carved lintels, an ashtray window, loopholes and, in the north corner, a vaulted stone cellar. These loopholes recall the defensive function of the initial construction, transformed into a comfortable residence in the 18th century. To the south opens a pretty stone balcony. Its double-pitched roof, its original framework and its south facade make it a very beautiful residence.
• Until the beginning of the 20th century, this castle had a grafted wing on the north side, still visible on the old cadastre, where the current Town Hall of Grilly is located, an old barn of the castle.
• The external aspect of the castle of Grilly, in the original state, is incredibly similar to that of the castle of Tournay, which has kept its second floor, and which is in Switzerland at 10 km from Grilly. Grilly and Tournay shared the same historical events.
• Like the Château de Sallenôve, the Château de Grilly is arranged to the north of an interior courtyard which is accessed by a gate that opens to the west. The courtyard is bordered on one side by the castle and on the other by farm buildings dating from 1788 and 1829, now partly destroyed. About ten meters away, on the other side of the garden, are the remains of the chapel, now enlarged and transformed into a farmhouse for the Sage family. The 16th century access door to the former chapel is still recognizable with an inscription "JHS AM" Jesus Christ and Ave Maria, identical to that of the baptistery of the church of Gex, which is dated 1520.
• A l' entrance to the property, a superb 18th century style gate attracts attention. The pillars, which date from 1779, are made of blocks of stone carefully cut and adjusted by hand, up to the astragalus of the capitals which bear cut stone balls on the abacus. The whole, despite its mass, gives an impression of lightness. The two leaves, in wrought iron, are copies of the originals. Inside the courtyard, there is a fountain with a stone basin. The courtyard also overlooked the kitchen with its two wells, fed by a spring, on one of which the fountain with a wooden pump was once located.
• The ground floor has five large rooms: two living rooms, the arms room, the dining room, the kitchen, the cellar and the small square 15th century tower on the northwest facade. Seven bedrooms occupy the first floor of the house. One of these has a beautiful coffered ceiling and one of the two molded fireplaces is listed, from 1740. The second floor and the towers are empty. It should be noted that only two small rooms in the north-west corner of the castle are barrel-vaulted, and that there is a difference of 160 cm between the floor level of the first floor of the part of the 12th century (lower) and the floor of the south wing dating from the 15th century, which underwent the majority of transformations during the 17th century.
• Inside, the remains of changes that have occurred over the centuries are numerous. Note the beautiful 15th century stone staircase and, upstairs, a 12th century molasse door whose frame is decorated with interlacing. We see on the ground floor a beautiful door in third point, two wooden columns and a freestone arch from the 13th century, a 14th century fireplace of vast proportions, decorated with freestone columns and, in the large tower, another older fireplace, with square stones, open fire. The internal staircase, built in 1481 with straight flights, is in cut stone, like the majority of the whole building, in the facade of which stones from the Roman tower are still visible. The few windows and doors of molasse are the remains of the older construction.
• Despite the destruction endured and the successive restorations, the building has preserved, with its initial simplicity, important elements of the castle built by the de Grailly family on the Roman tower of the Julia Equestris colony: the bodies of the towers, the 12th century facade on the ground floor with its door in molasse and its freestone arch, and upstairs the doors in molasse.