Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

Château des Places à Crozant dans la Creuse

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Creuse

Château des Places

    Les Places
    23160 Crozant
Château des Places
Château des Places
Château des Places
Crédit photo : Philippe hirou - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1493
Transmission to Jean de Gondeville
milieu du XVe siècle
First mention of the fief
1640
Purchased by Gabriel Henri Foucault
1686
Construction of the chapel
1786
New castle project
17 janvier 1992
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Chapel; porch; dovecoier (cad. A 1400): entry by order of 17 January 1992

Key figures

Jean Peynot (alias de Gondeville) - Ecuyer and medieval lord Owner in the 15th century, alleged builder
Gabriel Henri Foucault - Lord of Saint-Germain-Beaupré Buyer in 1640, sponsor of the works
Sylvain de La Marche - Lord of Puyguillon Owner in 1786, aborted project
Maurice Utrillo - French painter Author of a painting of the castle (1929)

Origin and history

The Château des Places, located 1.8 km southwest of the church of Saint-Étienne de Crozant (Creuse, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), was originally a medieval castle. Its current remains — a ruins pavilion with a double drawbridge and 15th-century cannons, a classical style chapel of Notre-Dame des Places (1686), and a dovecote without a roof — illustrate its evolution between military defense and seigneurial residence. The ditches have now disappeared, and the major transformations, such as the addition of circular turrets in the 18th century, reflect the successive adaptations of the site.

The fief des Places belonged to the family of Gondeville (or Peynot) in the 15th century before being acquired in 1640 by Gabriel Henri Foucault, seigneur of Saint-Germain, who undertook major renovation work. In 1786 Sylvain de La Marche, a new owner, planned a new castle in neoclassical style, but the French Revolution interrupted the project: the stones prepared were stolen and then reused for a modern home. The chapel, decorated with the coat of arms of the Foucault, housed a Pietà stolen in 1977, the object of a local pilgrimage since its discovery in 1664.

Partially listed as historical monuments in 1992 (chapel, porch, dovecote), the site also inspired the artist Maurice Utrillo, who painted it in 1929. The private archives and old photographs reveal lost details, such as a broken roof on the central pavilion or oculus windows. The castle thus embodies the mutations of a limousine seigneury, between medieval heritage, classical embellishments and revolutionary vicissitudes.

External links