Château de Francheville

The 'old castle' of Francheville-le-Bas, in the Rhône, now owned by the commune, is a medieval keep two-thirds in ruins. Built around 1200, it belonged to the archbishops of Lyon, who kept a castellan there.

On the western approach to Lyon, at the crossroads of the old Roman roads of Aquitaine and Narbonensis and the road to Saint-Victor-sur-Loire via Tarare, the village held an important military position. The keep was built by Renaud de Forez, Archbishop of Lyon from 1193 to 1226, on a date that remains unknown. The obituary of the Saint-Jean primatial church records that he 'erected and fortified' the building.

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