Donjon du Temple, Medieval keep in Chazey-Bons, France.
Donjon du Temple is a 13th-century stone keep at La Bâtie, on a hilltop shared by Chazey-Bons and Belley. The photograph shows a tall rectangular tower of irregular grey and brown stone blocks, lighter on one face, with a hipped roof of reddish-brown tiles and a single small square opening high on the left face. It originally had a ground floor and one upper floor, but lost a storey in the 19th century.
The strong tower, sometimes called a keep, dates from the 13th century. Pierre de Rossillon is the earliest known lord, living at La Bâtie in 1330. Between 1679 and 1789 the site housed the Visitandines of Belley. The keep had a ground floor and one upper floor, and lost a floor in the 19th century; the surviving part was registered as a monument historique on 24 May 1973.
The site is called "la Bâtie" by the heritage services and the municipality of Chazey-Bons, which also uses the name "Temple de la Bâtie". The tower and farm stand in Chazey-Bons, while the dwelling and dovecote lie in Belley. Between 1679 and 1789 the Visitandines of Belley were housed here.
The tower and farm stand on the Chazey-Bons side of the hilltop, while the dwelling and dovecote belong to Belley, so the site straddles two communes. The keep is on private land; access is not open to the public. The surviving part is a ground floor and one upper level, the upper floor having been lost in the 19th century.
The structure sits on cadastral section B plot 336, divided between two municipalities with the tower in Chazey-Bons and adjacent buildings in Belley.
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