Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Touvet, built in the 13th century by the Entremont family, was originally a strong house controlling the Gresivaudan valley, on the border between Dauphiné and Savoie. Today, there is only one body of medieval houses, formerly called the castle of Qinsonnas, bearing witness to its defensive past. Guigues Guiffrey, archer in the Chevalier Bayard's company, became its owner in 1528, marking the beginning of an uninterrupted hereditary transmission for more than 500 years.

In the 18th century, Count Pierre de Marcieu radically transformed the castle into a marina, adding a water staircase to the Italian, French terraces and sumptuous interior decorations, including a room decorated with Cordoba leather. The gardens, designed by Letellier and Potin, combine Italian influences and French classicism, with boxwood beds, basins and water games fed by the Bresson torrent. Ranked Remarkable Gardens, they were restored between 1997 and 1999 according to 18th century plans.

The castle, still privately owned by the Purroy family of Laubarivière de Quinsonas-Oudinot (descendant of Marshal Oudinot), is open to the public. Ranked Historic Monument in 1959 for its water stairs and in 1964 for the whole estate, it illustrates the architectural evolution of a medieval fortress in aristocratic residence, while preserving remains of its original fortifications.

Its strategic location, between Grenoble and Chambéry, made it a place of power at the borders of Dauphiné and Savoie. The archives of the castle reveal the extent of the work carried out between 1753 and 1762, including the creation of eight basins originally planned but never carried out before the contemporary restoration. The two plane trees surrounding the water staircase, planted in the 19th century, bear witness to landscape changes inspired by romanticism.

Today, the estate combines historical heritage and an exceptional natural setting, with a view of the mountains of Grésivaudan. The interior decoration, the military remains and the 10-hectare park, which combines classical heritage and subsequent adaptations, make it a rare example of family and architectural continuity over more than half a millennium.

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