Saint-Bernard

Bernard de Romans (born around 780-841), also known as Barnard of Vienne (Bernardus, Bernard), is a saint of the Catholic Church and an archbishop of Vienne, in Dauphiné, from the end of the 8th-beginning of the 9th century. Barnard, during his years as lieutenant of Charlemagne, was the founder of the village of Saint-Barnard which became Saint-Bernard. Saint-Barnard was acquired in 1264 from Guichard, sire de Beaujeu. There are still two thirteenth-century perimeter gates. The Château de Saint-Bernard was built in the 13th century on the banks of the Saône. He is best known for having housed the painters Maurice Utrillo and Suzanne Valadon at the start of the 20th century. You can see the castle, including the farmyard and the hold of the old ditches. In the surrounding area there is still the old priory of La Bruyère, known as the Château de La Bruyère, a priory of Benedictines founded in the ninth century.