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Origin and history

The Hotel du Charriol, also named Château du Pirou, is a mansion built in 1410 in Thiers, Puy-de-Dôme, on the order of Louis II de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon and Count of Forez. Integrated into the second enclosure of the medieval city walls, it served as a local residence for the chestnuts appointed by the Duke. Its architecture, marked by a corbelled gable and a complex roof, makes it one of the most emblematic buildings in the ancient center of Thiers. Ranked a historic monument by Aristide Briand in 1907, it is the third property of the commune to obtain this protection, after the church Saint-Genès (1846) and the Abbey of the Moutier (1862).

Originally named "Hôtel des Ducs de Bourbon", the building was acquired in the 12th century by the Charriol family, which gave it its current name. This seigneurial line, initially located on Thiers' heights, retained the property until the 1970s. In the 1980s, Thiers City Hall, led by Maurice Adevah-Peuf, bought and renovated the building, then in poor condition, to make it a cultural place. Today, it houses on the ground floor the tourist information office, while the floors welcome the Donation Calamy, a collection of European art (Gothic furniture, Flemish paintings, tapestries) opened on time, as during Heritage Days.

The castle of Pirou illustrates medieval civil architecture, with its two floors of wood resting on a masonry ground floor. Its spiral staircase serves vaulted cellars dug in the rock, once connected to a network of underground galleries today blocked. The prominent part of the corner, supported by two wooden pillars, and the original chimneys add to its historical character. Its name, "Pirou", derives from the peirou auvergnat (stone pier), reflecting its anchor in the local topography. The eponymous place, formerly spelled "Piroux", bears witness to this linguistic evolution.

Owned since the 1980s, the Château du Pirou is partially accessible to the public. The Donation Calamy, a legacy of 170 pieces (furniture, alabasters, tapestries) made by a THURNISH family in 2004, is exhibited in an exceptional way. The building, located in the preserved area of Thiers, remains a symbol of the medieval heritage of the city, between seigneurial history and contemporary cultural vocation.

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