Listed as a heritage site in Isère, this former stronghold in Dauphiné is a privileged site where history and imagination come together.
The landscape character of this village, in which nature and vegetation have regained their rights, gives all its originality to Quirieu. This “ghost village” thus takes on the appearance of a storytelling setting where imagination and poetry rub shoulders with history.
Quirieu, a city on the banks of the Rhône
Located on the northern border of Dauphiné, the site extends over a 4-hectare limestone mound forming a small, elongated and naturally steep plateau. On its eastern flank, Quirieu dominates the Rhône and overlooks its alluvial terraces by almost 100 metres. To the east, facing the site, on the other side of the river, rise the first and powerful foothills of southern Bugey. To the west, Quirieu opens onto the cold lands of Bas Dauphiné.
The place of Quirieu in the Middle Ages
It was one of the main Delphin strongholds. Quirieu benefited from a situation of privileged control exerted at the same time on a territory, a river axis and a border (the Rhone, which separated here the Dauphiné and the Bugey until 1601). After a peak period from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth centuries, Quirieu was gradually abandoned. But the streets and habitat of the old urban fabric are still very visible.
The landscape character of this village abandoned by man, in which nature and vegetation have regained their rights, gives all its originality to Quirieu. This “ghost village” thus takes on the appearance of a fairy tale setting where dreams, imagination and poetry rub shoulders with history.
Quirieu is a sleeping city that looks like something out of a fairy tale.
Visit the sleeping city
In autonomy with a visit plan…
The site is dotted with thematic panels that allow you to discover Quirieu in complete freedom. Walk the paths of the Quirieu site and head for the orientation tables; you will discover the impregnable panorama on which opens the medieval site. By leaning on this territory below, you will realize how man has shaped this landscape thanks to his know-how.
