Rouelbeau Castle

The Rouelbeau Castle ruin near Meinier east of Geneva is the only openly visible medieval moated castle in the Canton of Geneva. Built in the 14th century by the de Compeys noble family, the complex once sat amid extensive marshland that formed its natural moat. With the dynasty's decline and the draining of the Marais de Sionnet, the castle lost its function and decayed. In the 21st century the wetlands were restored and the wall fragments conserved. Today wooden walkways lead through the rewetted marsh to the ruin, which doubles as an educational trail on medieval moated castle technique and as a bird sanctuary.