Valmer Castle

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Valmer Castle at the beginning of the 20th century, view from the southwest
The Petit Valmer , view from the south

The Valmer Castle ( French Château de Valmer ) is a castle complex northeast of Chançay , a French commune in the Indre-et-Loire department of the Center-Val de Loire region . It was built in 1524 through the reconstruction of a medieval castle by the Binet family and was redesigned and expanded in the second half of the 17th century. After numerous other changes and repairs during the 19th and 20th centuries, the main building was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1948. The remains of the Neo-Renaissance style complex belong to the numerous castles in the Loire Valley and, together with the associated terraced baroque garden, have been under monument protection since May 1, 1930 as a registered monument historique . The palace park and garden have been recognized as Jardin remarquable since 2004 . They can be visited for a fee together with the castle chapel carved into the rock , which is used by 12,000 visitors per year.

history

Valmer was mentioned for the first time in 1434. At that time it was owned by Catherine de Bueil, who was the first known owner of the domain. Jacques Binet bought it on July 23, 1461. His son Macé was listed as the owner in 1500. From his marriage to Jeanne Briçonnet came the son Jean, maître dʼhôtel of the king and queen of Navarre . Between 1524 and 1529, he had the medieval castle that had existed up to that point extensively modified and turned into a more homely castle. At the same time , a chapel was carved into the tuff rock on which the castle stands, which was consecrated by the Bishop of Autun on November 28, 1529 and consecrated on March 13, 1535. When Protestant soldiers looted the castle during the Huguenot Wars in 1562 , it belonged to Jean Coustely, Mayor of Tours . In order to get to the family's suspected hiding place on the castle grounds, the looters did not shy away from torturing Jean's daughter and burning the soles of her feet.

Valmer Castle on a watercolor from 1695

Jean's descendant Claude Coustely sold Valmer on May 23, 1640 to an adviser to Louis XIII. , Thomas Bonneau, who carried out extensive redesigns and extensions to the palace complex. The interior of the palace was redesigned in the Louis-Treize style , and to the north-east of the palace building, Bonneau had a pavilion built in the same style from 1646 to 1647 to accommodate the palace administrator. Because the new lord of the castle found the old rock chapel too dark and too damp, a new chapel was built on the west side of the Petit Valmer's house , which was blessed on October 25, 1647. To the south of the castle, Bonneau also had new farm buildings built and the gate erected as the entrance to the castle grounds. Today's gardens and palace gardens also go back to Thomas Bonneau. Although there had been an associated terrace garden modeled on the Italian Renaissance gardens since the first castle from the 16th century , Bonneau had it redesigned in a baroque style and the upper terrace ( Haute terrace in French ) laid out. He placed numerous vases and statues in the newly designed gardens and park . Well-known is the white marble statue he commissioned from the sculptor Jacques Sarazin , which shows Leda and Zeus (as a swan) and has been in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1980 .

Plan of the palace complex from 1695

After Thomas Bonneau's death, the property passed through numerous hands and never belonged to an owner for long. Etienne-Dominique Chaufourneau has been handed down as the owner for 1691, but Valmer Gatien Pinon already owned it in 1703. In 1736 the property was up for sale again and was bought by a Mr. Duvelaer, the commandant of the Lorienter port, before Nicolas Chaban de La Rivière bought it ten years later on July 5, 1746. His descendants remained owners until 1888. He increased the property by buying the neighboring Seigneurie La Côte on April 17, 1756. On his death in 1763 he left the castle and the associated land to his sister Marie Chaban and her husband Jacques Valleteau de Chabrefy, who in 1766 gave it to their son, the Baron Thomas Valleteau de Chabrefy, bequeath. After his death in May 1792, the castle passed to his widow Marie-Françoise Barré. On August 4, 1810, the Seigneurie La Côte was again separated from the property and handed over to Jérôme, the younger son of Marie-Françoises. In return, the older son Thomas (II) was to inherit Valmer, which happened in November 1825. Thomas (II.) Had the frescoes in the younger castle chapel restored in 1826 , as evidenced by his coat of arms cartouche in the chapel. It is possible that he also had the tall Doric column that is still preserved today set up in the center of the hornbeam labyrinth as well as numerous vases in the garden. They probably come from Chanteloup Castle , which was laid down and sold piece by piece from 1823 onwards.

When Thomas II died in January 1846, his son Jérôme-Charles Valleteau de Chabrefy succeeded him as the castle owner. From June 1847 he had the property modernized and changed in the neo-renaissance style. To do this, he hired the well-known architect Félix Duban , who had made a name for himself with the restoration of Blois Castle that had begun four years earlier . However, it is not known what exactly Duban made of redesign proposals and whether these were implemented. Because his bill to Jérôme-Charles Valleteau de Chabrefy was very low, the research assumes that his part in the changes was very small. Duban's pupil Jules Potier de La Morandière played a much larger part in the redesign , according to whose plans numerous redesigns were carried out between 1855 and 1856. With the exception of the north-east side, all facades have been radically changed, including removing the cross-frame windows and replacing the Renaissance windows . The main portal on the southwest side facing the courtyard was also redesigned, as was the northwest side, on which de La Morandière had a two-storey gallery inserted between two corner towers . In addition, a low, single-storey kitchen wing was added to the main building on the southeast side. However, the changes not only extended to the main castle, but also included farm and auxiliary buildings. For example, the old mill was demolished 450 meters north-west of the palace in 1855 and a new barn was built in its place for the tenant of the farmyard .

Valmer Castle around 1900.jpg
Valmer Castle around 1910.jpg


Valmer Castle before (around 1900) and after the changes (around 1910) under Paul Lefèvre

When Jérôme-Charles died in 1874, the property passed to his three children from his marriage to Marie Amélie de Bonnard, Jérôme, Henriette and Marguerite. They sold Valmer to Paul Lefèvre, a Paris stockbroker, in September 1888. Only seven months after the purchase, he engaged the architect Léon-Auguste Brey to redesign the previously unchanged northeast facade of the main building from 1889. In addition, the upper floor of the gallery on the northwest side was replaced by a loggia with round arches and Doric columns before 1902 . Around the period from 1890 to 1900, Lefèvre also had the rock chapel redesigned. Some of the garden vases were given away by him around 1900 and are now in Pierrefitte Castle in Auzouer-en-Touraine . In return, he bought other vases and columns to set up in the palace garden and had two greenhouses built. After his death in 1925, the castle was inhabited by his widow and daughter Renée and her husband Adhémar Barré de Saint-Venant when a fire broke out in the main building on the night of October 20, 1948 due to a forgotten iron. Few parts of the building were not destroyed by the fire, including the basement, two flights of stairs, the loggia and the kitchen wing. However, the main castle stood as an unsecured fire ruin for 20 years before the remains were finally laid down in August 1968. In 1949 there was a plan to rebuild part of the castle in order to set up an old people's home, but this was never realized. Only the kitchen wing, known as the orangery , was repaired by the architect Maurice Boillé. The work was just one of four renovations that were carried out during the 20th century.

The current owners of the castle, Aymar de Saint-Venant, a great-grandson of Paul Lefèvre, and his wife Alix maintain the extensive gardens and have opened them to visitors. In addition, the couple and their son Jean manage the vineyards belonging to the castle and rent out the orangery for parties and receptions.

description

Schematic site plan of the castle

Valmer Castle is located in the Brenne valley on a slope on the eastern bank of the river. The architecture, including terraced gardens and palace gardens, presents itself to the visitor as a typical ensemble of the 16th and 17th centuries.

architecture

main building

The location of the former main castle is now marked by yew trees cut into shape . It was located in the middle of the axis of the plant running from southwest to northeast. The two floors of the rectangular building were covered by a hipped roof. At three of the corners stood three-story square towers. The five-axis southwest side facing the courtyard was designed as a show facade. Above the central main entrance was a niche with statues, which was crowned by a round arched gable. The dormer windows in the attic had on this side gables shell-shaped, while the dormer windows having at the northeast longitudinal side of the building gable rich sculpted in another form. After changes at the end of the 19th century, the facade there had cross-frame windows again . A two-story gallery building stood between the two corner towers on the northwest side, the windows of which were framed by pilasters on the ground floor . The upper floor was designed as a loggia. Its three round arches were supported by Doric columns with a parapet between them . The construction was completed by a high hipped roof. Up until the 19th century, a drawbridge led from the southeast side of the first floor to the upper terrace of the garden.

On the ground floor of the main building a staircase, an office and a large kitchen lay beside two living rooms, a large salon ( French Grand Salon ) called space whose central ceiling painting the painter François Lemoyne was attributed. It was surrounded by corner medallions in grisaille technique. The castle library had a painted beamed ceiling and a fireplace that showed a portrait of the French King Henry IV . This fireplace remained undamaged in the 1948 fire and the Count Saint-Venant then sold it so that it was later installed in a castle in Normandy . Another notable fireplace was in the dining room. It was assembled from old stone fragments from the 15th and 16th centuries and installed there in the mid-19th century. One of the few parts that was spared from the fire was a tuff door lintel from the north-east facade of the main castle. It shows a deer's head in full relief and is now attached to the fireplace in the orangery . On the first floor there were six living rooms and a few utility rooms, and there were also various smaller rooms on the top floor.

  • The Great Salon around 1925

  • Chimney with the portrait of Henry IV.

  • Upstairs bedroom

  • Smaller salon

Petit Valmer and rock chapel

The Petit Valmer , built in 1647, is the residence of the current castle owners. The single-storey pavilion building has a slate-covered hip roof. The former castle chapel, which was in use until 1890, is attached to the north-western side. Its interior is still preserved, including frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Christ and the Assumption . The paintings were restored in 1935.

In the tuff rock on which the upper garden terrace lies, a two-aisled chapel was built in the first half of the 16th century . Access to its interior is provided by an arched entrance, above which there is a niche with the statuette of Saint Roch and a neo-Gothic keel arch . However, this design is not from the same time as the chapel, but dates from the end of the 19th century. Each chapel nave has a flat, two-bay cross - ribbed vault , with the main nave being extended by a small altar niche. There is an altar in it , the front of the cafeteria is decorated with a relief in the form of a triptych . It shows a Pietà in the middle , framed on the sides by the portraits and coats of arms of the two donors. These are Jean Bernard, who was Archbishop of Tours from 1441 to 1466 , and his nephew Guy. The relief originally comes from the archbishop's summer residence in Vernou-sur-Brenne and was attached to the altar under Paul Lefèvre. He also had the two windows with stained glass from the 16th century installed in the chapel. In two small side chapels on the long sides of the aisles there is a Romanesque font and a brightly painted stone statue of St. Martin from the 1530s. The figure was restored in 2012. A large clay tablet with an inscription commemorates the founding and blessing of the chapel in 1529.

Farm buildings

The farm buildings of the palace are grouped on three sides around a small courtyard in the southern corner of the palace area. The three buildings on the north-western side of the courtyard previously served as horse stables, accommodation for coachmen and grooms and as a wine press. All of them have a granary on the top floor and separate the farm yard from one of the garden terraces. On the southwest side facing the street there is a massive round tower with a flat conical roof . It used to serve as a pigeon tower and with its 1,339 nesting holes inside it was designed for around 3,000 birds. Other buildings that belonged to the castle economy were a dairy, a coach house, a bakery , cow and pig stalls, sheds and a kennel for the pack of hunting dogs . The curious thing about the farm buildings is that the roof sides facing the main building are covered with expensive slate, while the sides facing away from the castle are covered with cheaper, red bricks .

Castle park and garden

Entrance gate of the castle

The park and garden belonging to the castle is completely enclosed by a wall with two round towers on the northwest side. A 450 meter long avenue planted with horse chestnuts leads from the southwest towards the castle and opens in a semicircle in front of a large rusticated portal with a lattice gate and a blown triangular gable . Behind it begins the terrace garden, which was laid out in the 17th century along two axes. The first runs in an extension of the avenue of southwest to northeast, traversed by the entrance of three farm buildings flanked portico ( French terrace devants ), crossed by means of a trilobate bridge to nearly 15 meters wide dry trench , and finally to search for the terrace of the Florentine wells ( French terrace des fontaines florentines ) and the former castle location in the forest park. The second axis starts in the southeast and ends in the northwest. It overcomes a total of eight different height levels and a height difference of 30 meters. It starts on an embankment with yews and hibiscus bushes , continues over the upper terrace ( French Haute terrasse ) and the terrace of the Florentine fountains , crosses the terrace of the Lorraine vase ( French terrace du vase de Lorraine ) and the Leda terrace ( French terrace de Leda ) to reach the terrace of the Anduz vases ( French: Terrasse des vases dʼAnduz ) via a staircase and, after crossing the kitchen garden, to end across a street at the Great Canal ( French: Grand Canal ), which is fed by the Brenne .

Terrace garden

The five- hectare terraced garden was inspired by the Italian Renaissance gardens, but was later redesigned into a typical baroque garden and today has roughly the same appearance as it had in 1695. The individual terraces, which are separated from one another by low walls, brick parapets and stairs, have names that result from their shape and decoration.

View from the upper terrace over the terrace of the Florentine fountain to the terrace of the Lorraine vase

On the upper terrace, which is enclosed by a parapet, there is a labyrinth made of topiary hornbeams. In the center of it stands a tall, slender column with a vase at the top, originally from Chanteloup Castle. From there the terrace of the Florentine fountain can be reached. It bears its name after the two Italian models modeled on fountains that are erected there. They have three water bowls and are of a cherub from bronze crowned. The planting of the terrace consists of Armands clematis , very old peony , wisteria , roses , variety Pierre de Ronsard , pink and white flowering tobacco plants and sage , dahlias and chamomile . There are two large Japanese pagoda trees on the south-western edge of the terrace . Their long branches reach down into the dry trench. Together with an ancient cedar tree, they are one of the three remarkable solitary trees in the palace gardens.

The dry moat of the castle forms a small garden in itself. It can be reached via a 15th century spiral staircase carved into the rock from the Leda terrace . Various types of hydrangea and valerian grow in the ditch . Tall shrubs cut into shape imitate buttresses .

The fountain terrace is bordered on its west side by the terrace of the Lorraine vase and is on the same level as it. To the southwest of the fountain terrace - separated from it by the deep dry trench - is the symmetrically designed front terrace . It forms a kind of forecourt, which is divided into four squares by straight paths. To the north-west of it is a symmetrically designed orchard.

A staircase takes the visitor from the terrace of the Lorraine vase to the Leda terrace below . It got its name from a marble statue that was previously placed in it and was made by the sculptor Jacques Sarazin. But it has now been replaced by the statue of a male figure. On the terrace you will mainly find white-flowering plants, such as the rose varieties Avon and Marie Pavié as well as Myrtofolio cherry laurel . At the foot of the wall overgrown with Gutedel vines stand irises , lavender and beautiful candles .

A double staircase from the 18th century with two large stone lion statues at the top leads to another level six meters below, on which the terrace of the Anduz vases is located. Their planting is mainly determined by cut yew trees and Chinese camp currents of the summer evening variety. Holy herb and rosemary enhance the Mediterranean impression of this garden.

Another staircase on the west side leads to the one hectare kitchen garden, which is a little lower down and where over 900 plants are cultivated, including old and almost forgotten species. It is laid out according to the classical principle of the 15th century and divided by two straight paths into four squares surrounded by box hedges , which in turn are divided into four further parts. At the intersection of the paths lined with plum and peach trees in the middle of the garden is a large water basin with a fountain . In addition to peaches and plums, other types of fruit such as nectarines , nashi pears , apricots , figs , apples and pears are grown in the garden. One of the plant squares is reserved for plants with small fruits such as gooseberries , currants and raspberries . A special feature is the 100 meter long pergola overgrown with various pumpkin plants . In the kitchen garden, however, not only useful plants are grown, but also ornamental plants such as geraniums and sacred flowers grow on the east wall of this area . There are two round towers with conical roofs on the western wall of the kitchen garden, which today serve as storage and storage space. They used to be the gardeners' accommodation and were also used as donkey stalls.

Forest park

To the north and west of the Petit Valmers lies a 60-hectare forest park that has retained its 17th century appearance. The majority of its trees are oak and hornbeam, as well as chestnuts and black cherries . Numerous straight forest paths that radiate through the park offer the opportunity for a walk in the forest. At the crossing points there are columns similar to those on the upper terrace of the palace gardens. A recently created arboretum with rare trees and shrubs completes the range of plants in the park. Two old buildings have been preserved in it: a small pavilion called vide-bouteille with a bent tent roof and a viewing platform called Belvedere supported by three arches made of brick, which used to be used to observe hunting in the forest.

wine growing

The lord of the castle Aymar de Saint-Venant and his son Jean cultivate wine on 28 hectares . Six hectares of which lie within the walled castle area. The two are continuing an old family tradition, because viticulture is guaranteed in the castle domain as early as 1888. As is common in the Vouvray wine-growing region  , the Chenin Blanc grape variety is grown for a white wine from the AOC Vouvray and Grolleau for a rosé from the Touraine appellation .

literature

  • Catherine Bibollet, Robert de Laroche: Châteaux, Parcs et Jardins en vallée de la Loire. La Renaissance du Livre, Tournai 2003, ISBN 2-8046-0754-2 , pp. 169-173.
  • Josyane Cassaigne, Alain Cassaigne: 365 Châteaux de France. Aubanel, Geneva 2007, ISBN 978-2-7006-0517-4 , pp. 346-347.
  • Jean-Baptiste Leroux, Catherine Grive: Fasteux châteaux de la Loire. Déclic, Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-84768-173-4 , pp. 47-51 ( excerpts from Google Books ).
  • Xavier Mathias, Alix de Saint Venant: Le potager dʼAlix de Saint Venant au Château de Valmer. Le Chêne, Paris 2013, ISBN 978-2-8123-0758-4 .
  • Jean de Montarnal: Château et manoirs de France. Volume 3. Vincent & Fréal, Paris 1934, pp. 7-14.
  • André Montoux: Vieux Logis de Touraine. Volume 4. CLD, Chambray-lès-Tours 1979, pp. 21-27.
  • Ludovic Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847–1856). In: Bulletin de la Société Archéologique de Touraine. Vol. 47, 2001, ISSN  1153-2521 , pp. 153-167 ( digitized version ).
  • Ludovic Vieira: L'incendie du Château de Valmer, à Chancay. In: Rivières tourangelles. Vallée de la Brenne. Société dʼétude de la rivière Indre et de ses affluents, Monts 2001, pp. 61-67.

Web links

Commons : Valmer Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Entry of the castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ a b Information on the castle park and gardens on the website of the Comité des Parcs et Jardins de France , accessed on January 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Office de Tourisme Val d'Amboise: Destination Val de Loire-Amboise. Les 7 sites patrimoniaux. undated, p. 4 ( PDF ; 508 kB)
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h Historical overview on the castle website , accessed on January 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ a b c d L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 153.
  6. ↑ Information about the rock chapel on the castle website , accessed on January 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g Guillaume Métayer: Chançay: Le Château de Valmer (I) , accessed on January 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Nicolas Viton de Saint-Allais : Annuaire historique, généalogique et héraldique de lʼancienne noblesse de France. Année 1836. Self-published, Paris 1835, p. 142 ( digitized version ).
  9. ↑ a b c d e f L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 153.
  10. ^ L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 155.
  11. ^ A b c L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban et J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 160.
  12. ^ L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 164.
  13. ^ A b c L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban et J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 165.
  14. ↑ a b c Guillaume Métayer: Chançay: "Belle et bonne terre à vendre", Valmer en 1736 , accessed on January 15, 2016.
  15. ↑ Guillaume Métayer: Chançay: Le Château de Valmer (II) , accessed on January 12, 2016.
  16. ^ L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 159, note 29.
  17. ^ L. Vieira: Deux architectes célèbres au château de Valmer, à Chancay: F. Duban and J. de La Morandière (1847-1856). 2001, p. 154, note 6.
  18. ↑ Information according to the cadastral map available online at geoportail.gouv.fr
  19. ↑ a b c Information on the garden on the castle website , accessed on January 18, 2016.
  20. ↑ C. Bibollet, R. de Laroche: Châteaux, Parcs et Jardins en vallée de la Loire. 2003, p. 171.
  21. ↑ Information on the terrace garden on Le JardinOscope , accessed on January 18, 2016.
  22. ↑ The green travel guide. Castles on the Loire. Michelin, Landa-Mörlheim 2005, ISBN 2-06-711591-X , p. 130.
  23. ↑ a b Description of the kitchen garden on the castle website , accessed on January 18, 2016.
  24. ↑ J.-B. Leroux, C. Grive: Fasteux châteaux de la Loire. 2009, p. 50.
  25. ↑ Information on the palace garden on gardenvisit.com , accessed on January 18, 2016.
  26. ↑ a b Information about the park on the castle website , accessed on January 18, 2016.
  27. ↑ a b c Information on viticulture on the castle website , accessed on January 15, 2016.

Coordinates: 47 ° 27 '30.4 "  N , 0 ° 53' 14.6"  E

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on October 16, 2016 .