The Château Du Crest is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Jussy of the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. It is the only wine producing chateau in the left Bank of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

in the Canton of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

History

Jussy was a vassal town of the Bishop of Geneva in the Middle Ages and the chateau was built on the grounds owned by the Bishop circa 1220. Several families such as de Compesières, and the de Rovorée clans took turns in looking after the castle as well as its domains for the Bishop who had the legal jurisdiction it. With the advent of

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, the castle found itself in the middle of the intrigues between the city fathers of

who dislodged the Bishop as the lord of the city state in 1536 and the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at th ...

. The Lord occupant of the castle, Michel de Blonay refused to abandon his Catholic faith and side with

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. Several attempts at resistance followed and finally with the defeat of the Saoy Duchy in the war of

Escalade {{Unreferenced, date=May 2007 Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare, and though it is no longer common in modern war ...

in 1598, the castle was taken by the Calvinists and destroyed in the 1590s. With the

Treaty of St. Julien A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal p ...

in 1603 that recognized Geneva as a Republic, the castle fell into ruins. Crest-Castle-aerial-2

Agrippa d'Aubigné Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné (, 8 February 155229 April 1630) was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem ''Les Tragiques'' (1616) is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In a book about his Catholic contemporary Jean ...

, a nobleman, a reformed

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

squire of Henry IV, who was expelled from France as result of his participation in the conspiracy against

Duke of Luynes The Duke of Luynes (french: duc de Luynes ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble French house d'Albert. Luynes is, today, a commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' in France. The family of Albert, which sprang from Thomas Alberti ( ...

acquired the rights to the ruins of the chateau. He was also war leader, historian, poet and writer. Hired to direct the work of fortification in the cantons of Geneva, Bern and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

, d'Aubigné rebuilt the castle du Crest. because of the previous experiences with fortifications this close to Geneva, the city fathers did not want to see a fortified structure and hence permitted only the right to build "a manor house to safeguard against thieves and murderers." However, Agrippa d'Aubigné went beyond the permission granted to him and built fortification including turrets, loopholes, drawbridge and a deep moat. He justified this to Geneva as a protection against papal armies. He died in 1630 and the castle passed into the hands of the Micheli family. In 1637, Jacques Micheli of Lucca in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

acquired the lordship and his descendants own the property to this day. The family played an important part in shaping the politics of Geneva and held several important positions. This changed with Jacques-Barthélemi Micheli du Crest (1690–1766) who was a declared enemy of the state. A bright politician and inventor of a thermometer published the "Maxims of a Republican" and was openly critical of the city fathers. He was exiled and sentenced to death in absentia. His descendants retained the rights of the castle. Since 2005, the Castle is looked after by the Foundation Micheli-du-Crest.

References

External links

Château Du Crest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Du Crest Castles in the canton of Geneva Ruined castles in Switzerland

History

See also

References

External links