Germolles Castle
The Germolles Castle ( French Château de Germolles ) is in the French community Mellecey in Burgundy Saône-et-Loire .
Right in the heart of Burgundy, near Beaune and Chalon-sur-Saône , Germolles Castle is the best preserved residence of the Dukes of Burgundy . Built in the second half of the 14th century, this complex reflects an important page in regional history. The castle is also one of the few surviving examples of the design of living spaces in France in the 14th and first half of the 15th centuries, as most of the princely palaces from this period have disappeared.
The castle and essential components of the system such as yard, basement, tower, chapel , hall, staircase, etc. stand as monument historique since 12 June 1989 under monument protection .
history
Namesake
The name of the castle goes back to the Lords of Germolles. Guigon of Germolles was mentioned by name in 1257 because of a case against his neighbor Guillaume of Montaigu before the ecclesiastical court of Chalon-sur-Saône. Under the descendants of Geoffroy, the local feudal lords gained dominion over the surrounding communities of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu , Mellecey, Dracy-le-Fort , Corcelles and Chastenoy in the first half of the 14th century . Germolles was in the 13th century a well-constructed castle , and the son of Jean Guillaume II. Was able, thanks to the marriage in 1363 settle with Philiberte Montaigu the old neighborhood dispute and to gain power. After 1375, however, the tide turned against the Lords of Germolles, who were in debt with 1,800 guilders . Within two years, Guillaume lost the Germolles' lands to the Duke of Burgundy: on December 11, 1380, Philip the Bold , the first Duke of Burgundy from the royal dynasty of the Valois , confiscated the property. On June 7, 1381 Guillaume von Germolles appeared with the ducal administrator Philibert Paillart before the Vogt of Chalon to confirm the transfer of ownership to the duke. Little is known about the appearance of the castle of the Lords of Germolles. It was certainly a massive building with towers and a few small windows. Only the lower chapel and the wine cellar remain from the original building .
Country seat of Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders
In 1381 the duke gave the property to his wife, the Duchess Margaret of Flanders . Important and expensive structural changes were carried out immediately. They lasted a decade from 1382 to 1402. The Duchess's goal was to transform the strict and archaic structure of the 13th century into an estate. In order to achieve this, several artists entered the service of the ducal couple: the architect Drouet de Dammartin, the sculptors Jean de Marville and Claus Sluter and the painter Jean de Beaumetz. These artists were working at the same time on another important project of the Duke: the Chartreuse de Champmol . The residence was slowly being transformed into a magnificent country house. The large rectangular buildings, surrounded by a moat , enclosed a courtyard. The living quarters were placed in the south and east wings, while the west wing contained rooms for receptions and the north wing was used for guards and security personnel.
The Duchess of Burgundy, energetic and a lover of country life, decided to develop some activities at Germolles that would create a pleasant environment around her preferred residence while promoting local agriculture. For example, she planted a large rose garden and the petals were sent to Flanders to be used for rose water. A sheepfold was also built. This not only reflects the Duchess' interest in sheep, but this animal was a symbol of the happiness of Flanders. With 250 francs a year, Germolles earned four times as much as the neighboring community.
On February 12, 1389 King Charles VI was. from France at the invitation of his aunt and uncle as a guest at Germolles.
Succession to Germolles
After the deaths of Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders, the castle belonged to three dukes of Burgundy one after the other: John Without Fear , Philip the Good and Charles the Bold . After the death of Charles the Bold in Nancy in 1477, the castle fell into the possession of the kings of France. With the approval of the king, the castle was used by different families until the end of the 18th century.
Various types of destruction, voluntary or accidental, especially lack of maintenance, resulted in the loss of the southern wing. In 1722 the complex was almost completely in ruins.
With the French Revolution , the castle became national property. A fire in 1873 destroyed other parts of the building. The castle has been privately owned by one and the same family since the end of the 19th century and is now open to visitors for most of the year.
literature
- Patrice Beck (Ed.): Vie de cour en Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Age. Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, Editions Alan Sutton 2002, ISBN 2-84253-743-2 .
- Bernhard Laule, Ulrike Laule, Heinfried Wischermann: Art monuments in Burgundy. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1991, pp. 424-425.
- Hervé Mouillebouche: Germolles. Son château, sa duchesse, ses moutons. In: Annales de Bourgogne . Vol. 75, No. 1, 2003, ISSN 0003-3901 , pp. 97-99.
- Matthieu Pinette: Château de Germalles. In: Revue de l'Art . No. 63, 1984, pp. 78-79.
- Matthieu Pinette: Le château de Germolles. In: Congrès archéologique de France, 166e session, 2008, Saône-et-Loire. Société française d'archéologie, Paris 2010, pp. 196–203.
Web links
- Castle website (French, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The palace complex in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ P. Beck (ed.): Vie de cour en Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Age. 2002, p. 11.
- ↑ P. Beck (ed.): Vie de cour en Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Age. 2002, p. 13.
- ↑ P. Beck (ed.): Vie de cour en Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Age. 2002, pp. 23-33.
- ↑ P. Beck (ed.): Vie de cour en Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Age. 2002, p. 18.
Coordinates: 46 ° 48 ′ 21.4 " N , 4 ° 45 ′ 5.1" E