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La Roche-sur-Foron up to the 16th century
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The beginning of the 15th century marked a turning point in the history of the City. The County of Geneva was reclaimed by the Count of "Savoie". From then onward La Roche was attached to the House of the Princes of "Savoie". The 16th century was prosperous ; due to its Free City State it became the greatest centre of fairs in the Duchy of "Savoie". The "grain stone measures"(1558) remind us of vibrant markets, and the constructions of the bourgeois |
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and noble estates - e.g. the Houses "de La Grange" and "L'Annonciade"- are evidence of this rapid expansion.
Schools were established from the 15th century, and Guillaume Fichet, a future rector of the University of Sorbonne, as well as Saint-François de Sales, future bishop of Geneva, were among their most illustrious students !
This splendour should not gloss over the 2 fires (1507-1530) and the 2 outbreaks of the plague (1542-1587), the gruesome destructive nature of which had a long term effect upon the population. On the night of the 29th March 1590, in the thick of the war between the Duke of "Savoie" and "the City of Geneva", La Roche was ransacked and the inhabitants massacred by the Genevans. The castle of the Duke of "Savoie" was ruined too. |
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