Town hall of Meillonnas

The Town Hall of Meillonnas, a small village in the Ain department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, stands at 1 place de la Mairie, the main square of a community of roughly 1,426 residents known as Meillonnassiens. Set at the foot of the Revermont hills about 15 kilometres north of Bourg-en-Bresse, Meillonnas looks like an ordinary rural French commune at first glance, but it holds one of the most distinctive craft histories in the Bresse region.

Where is the town hall and what does the square look like?

The town hall building faces a square that was once reached by a flight of steps running alongside one of the village streets. A small gazebo used to stand there too, before being relocated to the municipal park during the 20th century — one of the few remaining traces of the old layout of Meillonnas's centre. The commune is currently led by mayor Jean-Pierre Arragon, in office since May 2020.

Why is Meillonnas known as a pottery village?

A short walk from the town hall stands the château of Meillonnas, built around 1350 by Humbert de Corgenon the Younger. Unlike the hilltop strongholds of Treffort or Jasseron, this château was built down in the valley. From the 15th to the 18th century it belonged to the Savoyard family of La Cambre-Seyssel, who sold it to Nicolas de Marron in 1740.

It was within the château's walls that the Marron family founded a faience workshop in 1760. Gaspard Constant Hugues de Marron, baron of Meillonnas, set up the manufactory, and its first five years were spent on trial and experimentation, with baroness Anne-Marie Carrelet actively involved in the process. The renown of Meillonnas faience rests on its striking "petit feu" and "grand feu" decorative styles, and a manganese-painted rose became the pottery's signature motif.

The baron's grandsons sold the château and the workshop to Pascal Antoine Bouvier in 1839. After the death of the last faience painter in 1845, the factory gave up faience production, though it kept making stoneware and glazed earthenware until around 1870. The clay-rich soil around the village had been worked by potters for centuries, which is what turned Meillonnas into one of the recognisable centres of ceramic craft in Bresse.

What else is worth seeing in Meillonnas?

Beyond the château and the former manufactory, the village church is worth a stop: it has preserved a remarkable painted decoration dating back to the 14th century, a rarity in this part of France. A walk through Meillonnas therefore brings together local administrative history, industrial heritage and religious art in one compact area that can be covered on foot in under an hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is the Meillonnas town hall located? The town hall stands at 1 place de la Mairie, 01370 Meillonnas, in the Ain department.

Why is Meillonnas famous for faience? Because from 1760 onward, the local château housed a faience manufactory founded by the Marron family, known for its "petit feu" and "grand feu" decorations and its signature manganese-painted rose.

Can the château of Meillonnas be visited? The château sits in the valley near the village centre and served as the faience workshop until around 1870; it remains one of the main historic landmarks in Meillonnas.

How many people live in Meillonnas? The village has around 1,426 residents, known as Meillonnassiens.