Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Drupt-Saint-Basle came into being in 1580, when Louis Le Mairat, rich draper and bourgeois of Troyes, acquired the seigneury of Drupt. In 1586 he obtained royal permission to surround his home with walls, ditches and drawbridges to protect himself from thieves. This fortified castle, which still remains the entry poter, the corner towers and the moat, reflects the tensions of the era, marked by the wars of Religion. The Mairats, faithful to Henry III and then to Henry IV, consolidated their local power until the early 18th century, leaving a lasting architectural footprint.

In 1712, the seigneury passed into the hands of Jean Moreau, before being acquired in 1714 by the family Guillaume de Chavaudon, who kept it until 1974. Pierre-Nicolas Guillaume de Chavaudon, an advisor at the Cour des aides, transformed the castle into a pleasure residence in the 18th century, modernising the facades and developing French-style gardens. His son, Étienne-Paul, captain of the dragons, continued the work by raising the gardens and improving hydraulic systems. The French Revolution shaken the family, accused of emigration, but the castle survived, becoming even a German hospital during the Second World War.

In the 20th century, the castle changed hands several times, suffering periods of abandonment and degradation. In 1983, Jean-Pierre Paupe saved him from demolition and undertook a thorough restoration, giving the monument its brilliance. The works, awarded with several heritage prizes (medal of the French Renaissance in 1999, Grand Prix national des Vieilles Maisons Françaises in 2011), preserved the interior decorations of the eighteenth century, the moat, and the historical commons. Today, the castle houses a private museum dedicated to popular art.

The architecture of the castle combines 16th century defensive elements (cannon towers, moats, drawbridges) with 18th and 19th century comfort facilities (French garden, Louis XVI lounge, winter garden). The interiors retain classified woodwork, marble fireplaces, and period parquet floors, while the commons, with their wood-paned structure, bear witness to the Champagne origins of the estate. The site, partially listed as historical monuments since 1987, illustrates the evolution of a seigneury in aristocratic residence and then in cultural heritage.

Among the remarkable elements are the dining room with painted woodwork, the living room decorated with a parquet "small Versailles", and the billiard room with its cherry library. The park, once ravaged, was restored with its linden paths and landscape perspectives. The moats, filled in the 19th century and then watered again, always encircled the house, while the cooler and the pigeon tree complete this seigneurial ensemble. The drawings left by German soldiers during the Second World War also recall its turbulent history.

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