Rouelbeau Castle

View towards Upper Savoy, the Mont Blanc in the background on the right

Scattered achaeological finds in the (former) marshes give evidence that there were already settlements during the Roman times some two millenia ago, despite - or because of - the swampy conditions.[9]

A picture, which the Swiss polymath Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth drew in 1785, says in its caption that the castle was built in the fifth century CE by Gundobad, King of the Burgundians.[10] While there is no evidence for that claim, it may be an indication that the site continued to be settled during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

The same goes for a thesis which was commonly accepted in the 19th century and claimed that Rouelbeau was Quadruvium, the royal residence of Gundobad's son Sigismund of Burgundy. That place was later located in Carouge.[4]

The excavations in 2011 with remnants of the palisades

The fortress, whose ruins can be seen today, was founded at the beginning of the 14th century in the context of the decades-long power-struggle between the lords of Faucigny and the House of Savoy for the rule over Geneva's countryside.[11] Its strategic location secured access to the newly-founded settlement of Hermance on the southeastern shore of Lake Geneva to the house of Faucigny. It was their only outlet to Lake Geneva, as their lands were surrounded by the County of Geneva. Along with further fortresses in Hermance, Nernier and Allinges it formed a defense chain against the Savoyard ambitions.[12]

Records from the Saint-Victor Priory indicate that the construction of the military installation, identified by later sources as a wooden fortified house, was completed on the castle's site on 7 July 1318 under the leadership of the knight Humbert de Choulex, who was a vassal of the Faucigny-Baron Hugues de La Tour et de Coligny, better known as Hugues Dauphin. Already in the following year, the Baron purchased the site from the knight of Choulex.[13]

Escher's drawing from 1785

The garrison was apparently manned by two to three infantrymen during peace times and by about ten foot soldiers and six cavalrymen during war times.[11] A paved path connected it with the surrounding hamlets.[6] Already three years after its inauguration the castle had to fend off an attack by Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, surnamed the Great. After his death in 1323 more assaults by his successors Edward, surnamed the Liberal, and Aymon, nicknamed the Peaceful, followed.[14]

Oil painting by an unknown artist, probably from 1808 (private collection)

In 1334, the Baron of Faucigny entrusted Humbert de Choulex again with the command of the fortress.[13] A detailed survey, which was prepared for the planned sale of some of the area of Dauphiné to the pope and has been kept in the Vatican Apostolic Archive ever since, mentions that in that year Rouelbeau was still made of wood.[14] In 1339, the Baron of Faucigny handed it over to Hugues de Genève, Baron of Gex,[13] and in the same year it was fortified by the piling up of an artificial hill, according to the afore-mentioned document.[14] The fortress was then protected by a double-moat.[15]

In 1341, the lords of Faucigny once again returned the fortress to Humbert de Choulex.[13] The construction of the stonework structure whose ruins remain today took place in subsequent years, probably under the leadership of the knight Nicod de Ferney. He inherited the estate in 1345 from Humbert who did not have any children.[14]

The stone walls did not not hold for long against the invaders from Savoy. In 1355, the troops of Amadeus, nicknamed the Green Count, conquered Rouelbeau Castle[11] and the area was integrated in the County of Savoy. Thus, the castle lost much of its strategic importance after just less than half a century[16][17][12] and it was apparently turned into a prison.[11]

The estate continued to be owned by the house of Ferney until 1420, when it became the property of the barons of Genève-Lullin through marriage.[6] They apparently used it as a hunting lodge.[11]

Ice skating around the ruins at the Pallanterie - oil painting by Geneva-artist Alfred Dumont from 1870 (private collection)

After the end of the medieval era the decay of the building just accelerated. When Geneva joined the Protestant Reformation in 1536 and declared itself an independent republic, its allies from Bern and Valais rallied their troops to support the protestant separatists in their armed struggle against the Savoyard dominance. Rouelbeau suffered damages during combat in that context.[11] Following the 1564 Treaty of Lausanne Meinier was jointly administered by the Republic of Geneva and the Dukes of Savoy for more than two centuries.[18]

Drawing from 1894 by Geneva-artist Philip Jamin from the collections of the Geneva Library

After the death of the last member of the house of Genève-Lullin in 1664 Rouelbeau was taken over by Claude-Alexandre de Fauchier, Baron de l'Etoile. His son sold it 19 years later to Jacques de Loys, the lord of Bonnevaux and owner of the nearby hamlet of Merlinge. However, the buildings kept on crumbling down for the next century. In 1793, another aristocrat - François Carron - inherited the ruins, but was expropriated after the French invasion of 1798. The state subsequently leased the estate to a number of individuals. The site basically served as a quarry during the course of the 19th century.[6] Contemporary illustrations show that it also became a popular destination for the urban population of Geneva on day vacations.[11]

From 1915 onwards the marshes of Rouelbeau were systematically drained by channeling the Seymaz in order to counter the rural depopulation in the area.[11] In 1921, the ruins were inscribed into the very first cantonal registry of historical monuments as the last traces of a medieval castle in the canton altogether.[19] However, they remained basically unprotected from the forces of nature and were overgrown by trees during the course of the 20th century.[11]

The rennaissance of Rouelbeau started in 2000 with the land restoration of the Seymaz marsh. The project triggered archaeological excavations and preservation measures by the Cantonal Archaeological Services, which discovered evidence of the wooden construction underneath the stone walls[20] as well as a papal bull by Innocent IV.[13] The works started in 2001 and lasted for twelve years.[19] Based on 3D-photography of the area, a miniature model of the ruins was made from bronze, which in addition to numerous info plates provides the visitors with an overview.[19]

The site was opened to the public again in September 2016 with a two-day festival which saw many participants performing medieval reenactments in costumes, including a group of women from Meinier who dressed up as "White Ladies":[21]