Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Lazenay Castle is a medieval house located near Bourges, in the Cher department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Built at the turn of the 13th century by Guiot de Clamecy, son of a bourgeois Burgundy, it rises to the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman site, marked by burials discovered in the 1990s. This estate, originally named "d-Azenay", was acquired in 1265 by Robert de Clamecy, who erected a house porch and a mill there, which is now extinct. The castle, surrounded by ditches, is located along the Auron River, 3 km from the tower of Philippe Auguste, symbol of the medieval power of Bourges.

Over the centuries, the castle changed hands several times. In 1496, Guillaume Compaing became the owner of the property and made arrangements in 1503 and 1506. In 1574 Jehan Niquet, abbot of Saint-Gildas de Châteauroux, donated it to the Jesuits of Bourges as a country residence. The site, described by Buhot de Kersers, included walls, houses, and a chapel preceded by a gallery. In 1562 Charles IX and Catherine de Medici stayed there for two weeks during the siege of Bourges, stressing its strategic importance.

During the French Revolution, the castle was confiscated as a national property and sold to Alphonse Charles Soulard, who joined a bourgeois house in 1876, relegating the house porch to the rank of agricultural dependency. In the 20th century, the site passed under the property of the Petit Séminaire and then the municipality of Bourges. Ranked a historic monument in 1994, the porch house was studied archaeologically, while the main building was transformed into a hotel residence in 1996. Its medieval architecture, including a square porch and gemini windows, bears witness to its prestigious past.

The house porch, an emblematic structure of the castle, consists of a vaulted porch originally (replaced by a wooden floor) and a rectangular house on a floor, accessible by a wooden staircase until 1994. Oak frames and architectural details, such as the three-piece arch windows, reflect medieval craftsmanship. Although partially preserved, the site remains vulnerable, despite its ranking and partial restorations undertaken.

The castle of Lazenay illustrates the architectural and social transformations of Berry, from its Gallo-Roman origin to its role under the Ancien Régime, through revolutionary spoliations. Its history, linked to figures such as the Clamecy, the Jesuits or Charles IX, makes it a key witness to the Burgundy heritage, now integrated into a modern landscape marked by Lake d'Auron, created in the 20th century.

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