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The Compesières Commandry is the main Commandry of the Order of Malta in the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland. The village of Compesières existed since the 12th Century and was also mentioned as the family name of the local noble family. In 1270 the Bishop of Geneva, Aymo of Menthonay, granted the village church to the Order of Saint John. They then expanded the church into a Commandery. It is likely that the oldest parts of the castle date from this period. The current castle was built in the 15th century. It was used by the Order as a hospice for pilgrims, hospital and a military saltpeter factory. In 1536, during the Protestant Reformation, the Commandry was stripped from the Order. The order returned to the castle in 1564, but it was held by the Protestant leaders of Geneva and Bern until a treaty between Geneva and Savoy returned it completely in 1598.
The order continued to hold the Commandry until the 1882, when it was transferred to the municipality of Bardonnex. In 1955, the municipality gave one of the rooms in the castle to the Order of Malta to build a museum.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
