Sarzay Castle

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Sarzay Castle with moat and preserved tower of the enclosure

Castle Sarzay ( French Château de Sarzay ) belongs to the French community Sarzay in the Indre in the Region Center-Val de Loire . The building stands as a monument historique since 1912 under monument protection .

history

Sarzay was first mentioned in written records around 1300. At that time the parish was part of the Archdiocese of Bourges . The Barbançois family held the seigneurie . She probably built the defense structure in the first half of the 15th century, which played an important role in the Hundred Years War . The family remained in possession of the fief until 1720 , which was made marquisate in 1651 .

architecture

Sarzay is one of the southernmost Loire castles , which is close to a tributary of the Indre , but is already adjacent to the first foothills of the Massif Central. Like many buildings of this type in Auvergne and Limousin , Sarzay had a rectangular residential building flanked by cylindrical, 25-meter-high corner towers. It was protected by two enclosing walls , which are said to have had a total of 38 defense towers . In the early days there was also a moat with three drawbridges and a 4 hectare pond. Only one tower has been preserved from the defensive system, on the ground floor of which there was a stately chapel .

George Sand describes in her 1845 novel “Le Meunier d'Angibault” (“The miller of Angibault”) the castle under the name “Château de Blanchemont” as “a very elegant castle, a long rectangle with only one on each floor large room, with four towers at the corners that house smaller rooms ”.

The additional stair tower , whose spiral staircase leads to the individual floors, has no machicolation and is probably of a later date. On the ground floor one comes into the dining room, which was also used by the guests. The apartment of the lord's wife, the children and the servants was on the first floor. In the north room, on the lintel above the fireplace, there is a relief of the coat of arms of the Barbançois family; you can see three leopards. The lord's and servants' living quarters were on the second floor. On the third floor there was only one room with a large fireplace on each side, where meetings were held, audiences were given and guests were welcomed.

  • View with tower of the enclosure

  • South side with stair tower

  • Room on the first floor

literature

Web links

Commons : Schloss Sarzay  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sarzay Castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French), accessed on July 8, 2009.

Coordinates: 46 ° 36 ′ 1.9 ″  N , 1 ° 54 ′ 23.7 ″  E