Troussay Castle
The Troussay Castle is located in the commune of Cheverny in the Loir-et-Cher department of the Center-Val de Loire region in France . It is one of the smallest Loire castles and is since 25 January 2000 as monument historique under monument protection .
Building history
The first documented owner of the property was Robert Bugy, administrator of the Blois salt warehouse in the time of Francis I and the king's shield bearer. His descendants lived in the castle until the 18th century.
Troussay was acquired by the Pelluys family in 1732, and in 1828 the poorly neglected castle was inherited by the historian Louis de la Saussaye , a friend of the writer Prosper Mérimée . With the help of the architect Louis de La Morandière, Saussaye tried to save the Renaissance building while taking its original character into account. For restoration parts were approved Renaissance architecture used in the area of the castle: sculptures, wall decorations and chimneys, carved wooden doors and windows, glass paintings in the Renaissance style and much more.
Architecture
The south facade of the central building was imprinted with the style of Francis I in the 16th century, which is expressed in the slate-covered chimneys, window crosses and the supporting stones of the rose windows. In the upper part of the door of the right tower the salamander, the heraldic animal of Francis I, can be seen.
The north facade is in the style of Louis XII. designed. The king's heraldic animal, the porcupine relief, was added to the stair tower . It comes from the Hôtel Hurault de Cheverny in Blois.
The two long structures of the farm buildings, extending to the right and left of the entrance courtyard, date from the 17th century. The right wing housed a donkey barn, a hay barn and the oven, which is still there. Today a regional museum for art and tradition is housed in the Sologne . A Latin saying can be read on the sundial of the tower: "Fear the last hour, time flies, pick the day."
During the restoration, the interior of the castle was radically changed by adding elements from other buildings. For example, the stained glass windows from the 16th century come from the Palais Sardini and the Palais Guise in Blois, and the door with an ornate ornament from the early Renaissance comes from the Bury chapel .
The garden
The park, which extends behind the building, offers the visitor delightful views.
The former French garden was neglected in the 18th century and then completely abandoned. It was not renewed until the 19th century, thanks to the efforts of Louis de la Saussaye. Today only a ditch, the rest of the former water system and two small pavilions remind of the former garden.
The box tree surrounding the garden is probably three hundred years old. There are also some very old and rare trees, for example a beautiful Lebanon cedar , American sequoia and an evergreen oak.
literature
- Castles and cities of the Loire . Valoire-Estel, Florence 2006, ISBN 88-476-1863-0 , p. 58.
- Castles on the Loire ; The green travel guide. Michelin Reise-Verlag, Landau-Mörlheim 1997, ISBN 2-06-711591-X , p. 167.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Troussay Castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French), accessed on June 3, 2009.
Coordinates: 47 ° 29 ′ 29 ″ N , 1 ° 25 ′ 28 ″ E