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Origin and history

The castle of La Palice, located in Lapalisse in the Allier, is an ancient stronghold built in the 12th century, and remodeled in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Originally, this wooden and stone fort was surrounded by a palisade (called palitium), giving its name to the locality. He commanded the strategic passage of the valley of the Besbre, border between the Duchy of Burgundy and the Kingdom of France until 1477. The family of La Palice, originally from the Forez, owned it from the 13th century before the estate passed to the Chabannes in the 15th century.

In the 15th century, Jacques I de Chabannes, senechal of Toulouse and chamberlain of Charles VII, transformed the castle into a seigneurial residence. He built the chapel of Saint-Léger (circa 1450-1470), in Gothic style, and founded six chapelies there. His grandson, Jacques II de Chabannes, Marshal of France under Francis I, erected a Renaissance house in polychrome bricks at the beginning of the 16th century, marking the gradual abandonment of the defensive function. This "new castle" housed ceilings with golden caissons, such as the famous Golden Salon, and a hexagonal staircase tower called the Marquise Tower.

The castle was a place of power and royal reception: Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII, Francis I and Henry II stayed there. In the 17th century he passed to the La Guiche, then to the Chabannes-La Palice, which partially restored him in the 19th century after revolutionary degradation. The chapel, classified as a historical monument, preserves the mutilated gissants of Jacques I and Anne de Lavieu. The park, redesigned by landscaper Paul de Chulot, and the 17th century stables complete the whole.

Ranked a historical monument in 1933 and 1999, the castle of La Palice illustrates the architectural evolution of medieval fortresses towards the aristocratic residences of the Renaissance. Its Renaissance ceilings, inspired by Italian models, and its history linked to the great names of the kingdom (like the connétable de Bourbon) make it a major testimony of Bourbon's heritage.

Among the remarkable elements are the hanging of the Preux (Tapisseries of the sixteenth century), the commons and stables of the seventeenth century, and the mausoleum of the Marshal of La Palice, partially destroyed during the Revolution. The site, open to visit, also includes classified gardens and a protected entrance gate since 1998.

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