This area was settled in the first century AD by the
Sequani, a
Gallic people. It was on a route used by the Romans and by the seventh century, the
Abbaye de Saint-Claude had been established nearby and the area was evangelized. During the
feudal period in the ninth century, the counts were Lambert and Geoffroy de Dortenc, and twenty generations of these seignieres followed. The Château de Dortan was built in the fifteenth century as a replacement for the original twelfth century building. It was attacked on many occasions, including by
Cardinal Richelieu in 1637. The last of the de Dortenc lineage was Jean-François de Dortenc, who died in 1708. He had committed various misdeeds and his successor sold the château to Pierre Gaulthier, adviser and secretary of
Louis XIV. Today the château is in private ownership and is included in the list of
Monument historiques. ==Geography==