Castel Vuillier and its approaches or the castel, facades and roofs of the annex building and the Eaux-Vives pavilion and plots of the property of Gaston Vuillier
Castel Vuillier and its approaches or the castel, facades and roofs of the annex building and the Eaux-Vives pavilion and plots of the property of Gaston Vuillier à Gimel-les-Cascades en Corrèze
Castel Vuillier and its approaches or the castel, facades and roofs of the annex building and the Eaux-Vives pavilion and plots of the property of Gaston Vuillier
Installation of Gaston Vuillier 1896 (≈ 1896)
Vuillier moved to Gimel and transformed a house.
23 mai 1912
Classification of cascade site
Classification of cascade site 23 mai 1912 (≈ 1912)
Legal protection obtained by Vuillier.
2 février 1915
Death of Gaston Vuillier
Death of Gaston Vuillier 2 février 1915 (≈ 1915)
Death of the artist in Gimel.
2 juillet 2018
Registration for Historic Monuments
Registration for Historic Monuments 2 juillet 2018 (≈ 2018)
Protection of the castel and its surroundings.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The Vuillier castel, in full, the facades and roofs of the annex building and of the Eaux-Vives pavilion, as well as the parcels constituting the property of Gaston Vuillier, as delimited in red on the annexed plane, on parcels Nos. 474, 193, 195, 197, 468 in the cadastre section AH and No. 34 and 35 section D: inscription by order of 2 July 2018.
Key figures
Gaston Vuillier - Artist and protector of the site
Fits the castel and ranks the waterfalls.
Origin and history
The Castel Vuillier is located on a rocky spur overlooking the village of Gimel-les-Cascades, famous for its spectacular waterfalls: the Grand Saut (45 m), the Redole (38 m) and the Horsetail (60 m), the latter falling into the gulf of the Inferno. This natural site, one of the first classified in France on May 23, 1912 thanks to the 1906 law, owes its protection to the determined action of Gaston Vuillier, artist and defender of the landscape heritage.
Gaston Vuillier (born 1845 in Perpignan) is a renowned illustrator-reporter, specialist in travel design and collaborator of magazines such as Le Tour du Monde and Le Monde illustré. A painter of limousine landscapes, he moved to Gimel in 1896 after discovering the region during his reports. He acquired a house that he transformed into a castel, built a park with stairs and views, and built the Pavillon des Eaux Vives, a chalet-restaurant offering a view of the waterfalls.
Vuillier played a key role in preserving the site by opposing an industrial project in 1912 to exploit the falls to produce electricity. After his death in 1915, the castel changed hands twice (1922 and 1933). The building, modest but functional, retains its original organization: living rooms on the ground floor, workshop and bedroom on the first floor, and attic. An annex building, probably a shed, completes the whole.
The Castel Vuillier and its outbuildings (pavillon, surrounding plots) have been protected since 2018 by an inscription under the title of Historic Monuments. The site remains a testament to Vuillier's artistic and ecological commitment, as well as the 19th century landscape architecture. Today, the property is shared between the municipality and private owners, without specifying its accessibility to the public.
