Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The château de la Bâtisse, mentioned in 1308, was initially a 13th century defence tower integrated into the protective system of Clermont-Ferrand. In the 14th century, three additional towers were added and connected by buildings, forming a castle. The Auzon valley was then used as a secure route, with the building controlling the low accesses, while the Crest castle dominated the heights.

In the 17th century the cardinal of Richelieu ordered the partial destruction of the fortifications of Auvergne: the walls of the enclosure and a tower of the building were razed in 1622, and the mâchicoulis of the remaining towers destroyed. Claude Roussel, acquirer in 1622, coiffaed the lantern cap towers around 1633. In 1693 Jean Girard (now Girard de Chasteauneuf), Secretary of the Roy, transformed the castle into an 18th-century marina, adding a French garden to terraces.

The gardens, covering 9 hectares, were designed in the style of André Le Nôtre and are now classified as remarkable gardens. Powered by an ingenious hydraulic system capturing water from the Auzon, they integrate basins, waterfalls and a maze. The estate, along the 1,800 m river, is the only water garden in the Central Massif. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1970 (façades, roofs, living room) and 1997 (gardens), the castle belonged to the families of La Volpilhière (until 1569), Roussel, Girard de Chasteauneuf, then to the Arnoux de Maison Rouge until 2021.

Left behind for 60 years after the suicide of the last of La Volpilhière in 1569, the seigneury was bought by Claude Roussel in 1622. Jean Girard's descendants joined the Arnoux family of Maison Rouge, the owner until March 2021, when Jean-Yves Berthon and Vincent Salesse became the new buyers. The castle thus illustrates a major architectural evolution, from the Middle Ages to the modern era, while preserving original defensive elements.

A plan of the eighteenth century, still preserved in the castle, attests to the original landscape arrangements: terraces, coolers, and waterfalls adapted to the turbulent relief. The protected elements include the facades, the woodwork of the large living room, as well as all the gardens with their structures (pavillons, fountains, alleys). The site remains an exceptional testimony of the art of gardens in Auvergne and the adaptation of castles to residential uses under the Ancien Régime.

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