La Bruyère Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

La Bruyère Castle, in Saint-Bernard (Ain), is the former Benedictine priory of La Bruyère, converted into a country residence in the 18th century. Founded in the 9th century, the priory initially depended on the abbey of Ambronay, then on the metropolitan chapter of Lyon. It reached its height in the 11th and 12th centuries, when its oldest parts date from, and was subsequently remodelled in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Almost abandoned in the 18th century, it was sold in 1752 and converted into a manor house, thenceforth called the Château de La Bruyère. The site retains the prior's residence of the 15th–16th centuries, remains of the church (12th–15th centuries) and the west gallery of the 12th-century Romanesque cloister. A privately owned property, the entire priory, including the ground and buildings, has been listed as a monument historique by decree of 30 December 1997.