Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Gatellier, located in Saint-Denis-de-Cabanne (with a part on Charlieu), is a historical monument dating back to the 16th century, with major transformations in the 2nd quarter of the 18th century. The present building preserves two 16th century wings, integrated into a structure mainly from the 18th century. This castle was decorated with a prestigious curtain of tapestries of Beauvais, Les Fêtes italiennes, after cartons of Boucher, sold in the early twentieth century and today preserved in the United States. An associated furniture, signed Delanois, is now on display at the Louvre.

In 1792, the castle was looted and its archives and library destroyed by fire. Access to the estate is through an 18th century stone bridge with two arches, crossing the river. Nearby, an abandoned mill is distinguished by its roof in the shape of a ship's hull, while a dovecoier-tour of the eighteenth century, with a stone dome and a lantern, marks the entrance. These elements, as well as the commons and the bridge over the mill's bay, have been protected by a classification under the Historic Monuments since 1990.

The estate illustrates the architectural evolution and vicissitudes of an aristocratic residence, between decorative fascists (tapseries, exceptional furniture) and violent episodes (revolutionary pickle). The industrial (moulin, bief) and agricultural (pigeon) remains also testify to its anchoring in a rural territory, where the castle played a central economic and symbolic role.

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