Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Ombreval, located in Neuville-sur-Saône in the Rhone, has its origins in 1458 with a pleasure house belonging to M. d的Ombreval. In 1586, the archbishop of Lyon Pierre d'Épinac and his sister Claude acquired the estate for 7,500 ecus. Between 1586 and 1593 Pierre d'Épinac built a large building, which was sold in 1599 by Claude to Jean-Baptiste Livet to settle the debts of his deceased brother. This Renaissance-style castle marks the beginning of a history linked to the religious and Lyonist aristocracy.

In 1630 Archbishop Camille de Neufville of Villeroy bought the estate for £41,000 and undertook major expansion and beautification work. It makes it a "splendid princely residence", surrounded by a park of 7 km of wall, populated by rare birds and equipped with French gardens. The castle welcomed illustrious personalities such as Louis XIII, Richelieu in 1639, and Louis XIV several times from 1659. In 1679, the Grand Condé stayed there, consolidating his reputation as a place of power and prestige.

At the Revolution, the castle was confiscated and renamed Marat-sur-Saône in 1793. After several changes of owners in the 19th century, including the Rambaud and Péricaud families, it was finally given to the commune of Neuville-sur-Saône in 1961 by the Vergnais heirs. Ranked a historic monument in 1927 (notably for its nymph of 1636), it is profoundly redesigned to house the town hall. Today, it preserves major architectural elements such as its corner pavilions, its square tower, and its coat of arms of the Neufville de Villeroy.

The park, structured on two levels, is home to the remains of a central basin and a classified nymph, an example of the baroque 17th century developments. The outbuildings, partially preserved, have been home to young people and culture since 1966. The castle thus illustrates the evolution of an aristocratic residence in a public place, mixing historical heritage and communal life.

His notable owners include archbishops of Lyons (Pierre d'Épinac, Camille de Neufville), Dukes such as François de Villeroy and the Marshal of Luxembourg, as well as Lyon bourgeois families (Rambaud, Péricaud). These successions reflect the political and social upheavals of France, from the Ancien Régime to the Third Republic.

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