Ain
Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
History
At the time of Roman occupation under
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
, a certain Sergius was rewarded with land - over time a small village developed around his home. Sergy was under Roman control for 464 years.
In the Middle Ages, the Sergier family administered Sergy until 1533. This family also founded a chapel.
In 1536, the Pays de Gex was invaded by the Bernese, and
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
was imposed by the de Martine family. The Sergier church became the Religionnaires temple.
In 1589, the Genevese took possession of the area, and in 1600 it became part of Catholic France. The temple in Sergy remained a Protestant church.
In 1685, the king forbade the reformed Protestant religion, and the temple was destroyed. In need of money, the de Martine family mortgaged Sergy, which was divided into "Sergy haut" (high Sergy) and "Sergy bas" (low Sergy). The castle, situated towards the lower end of the village, was in very bad condition when the Genevan family, the Buissons, became the owners in 1755.
In 1779, Pierre Pictet (the husband of a member of the Buisson family) became lord of Sergy until the French revolution. During this period, a church was built in the lower village. This is the same church as is found in Sergy today.
The "haut" and "bas" division remains today, and while lower Sergy stretches toward the border of St.Genis-Pouilly to the South, the northern edge of high Sergy meets the foot of the Jura Mountains (a sub-alpine mountain range that traces the France-Switzerland border).