Quirieu, medieval site

The rural surroundings of this village, in which nature have regained its place, gives Quirieu all of its originality. This 'ghost village' has the appearance of a fairytale where imagination and poetry combine with history.
Quirieu is a sleeping village that feels like the setting for a fairytale.
Located on the northern border of the Dauphine, it is now part to the town of Bouvesse-Quirieu (Isère) and the Balcons du Dauphine Community of Towns and Villages. The site extends over 4ha on a limestone hill forming a small, elongated and naturally steep plateau. On its eastern side, Quirieu dominates the Rhone and overlooks, from nearly 100 metres high, its alluvial terraces. To the east, facing the site, on the other side of the river, the first, powerful foothills of Bugey rise. To the west, Quirieu opens onto the cold lands of Bas Dauphine.
In the Middle Ages, it was one of the Dauphiné's strongholds. Quirieu had a privileged control situation over a region, a fluvial axis and a border (the Rhone, which separated Dauphine and Bugey here until 1601). After a period of apogee from the 14th to the 16th centuries, Quirieu was gradually abandoned. But the streets and housing of the old village are still very noticeable.

The site is dotted with thematic panels that help you to find out more about Quirieu independently. Walk along the paths in Quirieu and head to the orientation tables; you will discover the breathtaking panorama which the medieval site opens up to. By looking down on this region, you will see how mankind has shaped this landscape : traces of the ferry on the Rhone, multinational cement factory (Vicat), quarry basin, vineyards (Union of Bugey Wines, Montagnieu), hydraulic (CNR) and nuclear (EDF) industry, outdoor leisure centres (Vallée Bleue, Montalieu-Vercieu), crafts (Moulin d'Arche, Bouvesse-Quirieu) and luxury furniture factory (Ligne Roset, Briord)...
Today Quirieu comes back to life during occasional touristic events, with historical stories or musical strolls (evening moonlight tales at the end of June, chantier Concordia in July).