Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Prêche, located in Checy (Loiret), is a monument built during the first half of the seventeenth century. In 1642, the property already included a main house, outbuildings for winemakers, a press, courtyards, a garden, vineyards, meadows and a wooded park. This estate reflected a typical organisation of the wine estates of the time, combining seigneurial habitat and agricultural exploitation.

In 1699, after the revocation of the edict of Nantes (1685), the adjacent land where a Protestant temple once stood was attached to the estate. This temple, built outside the walls of the episcopal city in accordance with the rules of edict, had been destroyed by royal order. The main house, rectangular in shape, is distinguished by a double evasive perron to the west, giving access to a central entrance by ten steps. A tower-shaped wing was added to the north at the end of the 19th century, partially changing the original aspect.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1974, the castle saw its facades and roofs protected, excluding the 19th century wing. Its history illustrates the architectural transformations and religious upheavals of the region, particularly related to the Protestant presence before its repression. Today, the site retains traces of its wine and seigneurial past, although some parts have evolved over time.

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