Quirieu, the former stronghold of Dauphiné, today a sleepy town overlooking the Rhône, is a true invitation to a poetic journey, just 1 hour from Lyon, at the Balcons du Dauphiné.
Stroll along its cobbled paths and soak up the very special atmosphere that reigns there, between ruins and nature.
Look up: until June 2025, you can admire the paintings of Auguste Ravier, thanks to the collaboration between the Imagine Quirieu association and the Maison Ravier de Morestel…
Quirieu, an ancient medieval city in Dauphiné, today a place of contemplation
Quirieu is the first stage of a 4 to 5 km walk along the banks of the Rhône.
Our circuit begins at the top of Quirieu.
(Please note, this short hike is not accessible to people with reduced mobility or strollers).
After a few hundred meters of steep, rocky path, you will begin to see some ruins and then an explanatory panel on the importance of this ancient stronghold of the Balcons du Dauphiné, which reached its peak between the 13th and 17th centuries, a period marked by conflicts between Dauphiné and Savoy.
On this hill, inside the ramparts, there was a fortified house and a village with a chapel, shops, craftsmen's workshops, covered markets, a notary's office, a hospital and a court of justice.
The Dauphin castle and its town were completed by a bastion in 1547.
It should be noted that life in this village continued until the beginning of the 20th century!
It is easy to imagine why Quirieu was so strategic.
The Rhône was then both a border and a trading zone (including for contraband).
Quirieu therefore benefited from a situation of control over a territory, a river axis and a border.
The fortified castle, mentioned as early as 1190, was one of the official residences of the Dauphin.
It consisted of three towers, linked together by fortified curtain walls and watchtowers, a courtyard housing an oven and a mill, as well as attics, bedrooms, stables and a kitchen.
It was accessed by a drawbridge.
These three towers, which have now disappeared, are mentioned in the Dauphinal Inventory of 3 (of Humbert II, Lord of Dauphiné).
They were materialized by Imagine Quirieu with logs of wood and various materials found on site:
– The Ratier Tower or Croton, 11 fathoms high with a circumference of 25, or more than 22 meters high, on two floors. (The ratier being the dungeon).
– The Great Tower, 13 toises high (26 meters) and with a circumference of 30 toises, on 3 floors.
– The Oratory Tower, 12 toises high (24 meters), including a vaulted chapel.
The square castle keep completed the ensemble.
Some key dates in the history of Quirieu:
- In 1289, Dauphin Humbert I is said to have besieged the fortress during the third Dauphin-Savoyard conflict.
On December 5 of the same year, he gave the lands and castle of Quirieu to his son Jean. - In 1291, the castle was taken by the Savoyards. Amadeus V of Savoy exchanged it in 1293 to Humbert I of La Tour du Pin.
- On March 30, 1349, Dauphin Humbert II sold Dauphiné to the Kingdom of France (“the transport”). The son of Jean Le Bon and grandson of Philippe VI, Charles V, would be the first to bear the title of Royal Dauphin.
In 1393, there were 346 fires in Quirieu. In 1429, only 80. - Around 1635, in order to consolidate royal authority and avoid these rebellions, Richelieu had the castle razed, like many others in the kingdom. The stones from the castle were used to build the houses in the village.
Quirieu had lost its military importance after the Treaty of Paris in 1355, which ended the Dauphiné-Savoyard War between Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and Henry IV, King of France.
This treaty established the Rhône as the border between the two territories.
In 1601, the Treaty of Lyon ended the Franco-Savoyard War (1600-1601) between Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and the King of France, Henry IV.
Bugey, opposite Quirieu, was therefore attached to the kingdom of France in the same way as Bresse, Valromey and Pays de Gex.
Here we must imagine the life of the inhabitants of this city overlooking the Rhône: stone houses, built on cellars, with roofs covered with slate, a narrow street, the large cart path, used by carters, leading to the banks of the Rhône below, fairs and markets.
Today, nothing remains of the castle.
Of the houses, only a few stone walls remain.
The fortified house itself is still partly standing.
Among the ruins of the buildings of Quirieu, you will see the chapel of Sainte-Catherine, built after the destruction of that of Notre-Dame de Quirieu, located at the port. This chapel was abandoned at the end of the 19th century.
Its bell, dated 1625, is today in the bell tower of the church of Bouvesse-Quirieu.
The walk continues below the city.
Don't miss out on a return trip to the port to admire the river and the view of the Ain just opposite.
In the past, it was at Port-de-Quirieu that passengers and goods arrived by boat, paying taxes and tolls to the officers of the Dauphin, which made the town of Quirieu rich.
At the time, we crossed the Rhône on the ferry, a large flat boat.
It was also downstairs that the animals were kept, which allowed the development of the Granges district.
The parish church of Notre-Dame de Quirieu and the church of Notre-Dame de Pitié were destroyed during the Wars of Religion in 1562. The chapel of Sainte-Catherine, in the medieval town of Quirieu, then became the parish church.
The medieval inn operated until… 1972!
Continue your walk along the port path then the guards’ path, to reach your starting point, montée de Quirieu.
The Imagine Quirieu association brings the old medieval city back to life
As you walk through the alleys of the “sleeping city”, you will of course have noticed the 14 paintings hanging in the trees.
These are reproductions of masterpieces by Auguste Ravier (Lyon 1814 – Morestel 1895), an open-air exhibition offered by volunteers from the Imagine Quirieu association and by the team at Maison Ravier, a museum in Morestel, dedicated to the painter, a precursor of Impressionism, to his work and to some of his contemporaries.
Here we can admire landscapes of the Balcons du Dauphiné in different seasons and times of day, with this very special light that captivated the painter and his artist friends.” If the places are recognizable – he often returns to the same places – he interprets them, nuances them like so many variations, always changing, according to the feelings they inspire in him.
He is a painter of skies where the setting sun prevails over the rising sun. Above all, he is in love with light and tirelessly seeks to transcribe its effects on the landscape, and has the art of renewing his subject.
This exhibition is part of the long list of artistic and cultural events organized by the Imagine Quirieu association to bring the site to life: storytelling evenings, shows at the open-air theater or even unusual hikes, the city is ultimately never really asleep!
Quirieu is also a Sensitive Natural Area of the Isère Department, with its orchid garden (which of course it is forbidden to pick!), its insect and small animal hospital.
Question and answer game at Imagine Quirieu and Maison Ravier
Nathalie Lamberton-Lebrun, director of Maison Ravier and Patrick Perraudin, president of the Imagine Quirieu association share with us the process of creating this open-air exhibition in the medieval town of Quirieu.
Why an exhibition in Quirieu?
“To awaken this land of History and gently enhance the sleeping city of Quirieu, since 2010 I have chosen to lead cultural initiatives promoting artistic creation.
In this green setting where the ruins powerfully evoke the life of an ancient era, Imagine Quirieu presents the works of an artist through an open-air exhibition that remains in place for the duration of one revolution around the sun.
For 2024/2025 it seemed important to me to bring together two emblematic cities of the Balcons du Dauphiné territory and to do this, I looked for the artist who could make this link.
My choice naturally fell on the painter of light Auguste Ravier… It was with this idea of the “open-air museum” that I wanted to meet Nathalie at the Maison Ravier!”
Nathalie, can you tell us more about this collaboration?
“When Patrick contacted me at Maison Ravier, the proposition seemed interesting on several levels.
This is an original way of presenting part of the collection “outside the walls” to better promote Ravier’s work in our region, both to a local public and to those passing through.
Moreover, Ravier is a painter who is among the pioneers of outdoor painting, before Impressionism, and presenting part of his work in a natural setting made perfect sense.
The poetic temperament of the artist, his vision of nature lend themselves perfectly to the site of Quirieu”.
Do you have other collaboration projects for 2025-2026?
“The exhibition of 14 paintings by Ravier under the light and the changing decor of each season in the city of Quirieu appeals to a wide audience and several projects for the end of 2025 and 2026 are slowly being finalized.
The complementarity between Maison Ravier and the Imagine Quirieu association, beneficial for the animation of our territory, will continue”.
Patrick Perraudin, President of Imagine Quirieu and Nathalie Lamberton-Lebrun, of Maison Ravier
We would like to thank the Imagine Quirieu Association and the Maison Ravier team, partners of the Tourist Office, for their collaboration, for this article but also for the tourism promotion projects carried out throughout the year.
To learn more about their actions:
Imagine Quirieu: www.quirieu.com
The association runs and maintains the medieval site. It is also very involved in research and historical development.
Ravier House: www.maisonravier.fr
The team at Maison Ravier, a museum in Morestel, offers exhibitions, conferences, workshops for children and many other activities.
Join Quirieu
Montée du lavoir Quirieu 38390 Bouvesse-Quirieu
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