Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The château de la Source du Rollin, located in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin in the Loiret, owes its name to the small stream the Rollin, which takes its source in the vicinity before hurling into the Loire. This estate, whose construction began in the 15th century, was initially a dependency of St. Mesmin Abbey of Micy from the early Middle Ages. Its architecture, centered on a body of two-storey houses flanked by pavilions, reflects Renaissance influences, as evidenced by the fireplace decorated with a salamander, symbol of Francis I.

In the 19th century, the castle was profoundly transformed and enlarged. In 1827, it was described as a 16 hectare country house, auctioned for 73,205 francs. The announcement mentions two mills: a windmill and a watermill on the Rollin River. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, the German General Staff occupied and set up a rescue post there. A notable event occurred on 20 October 1870: Maxime Genteur, resident of the castle, discovered in a fireplace a German message revealing military positions before the Battle of Coulmiers, which he immediately transmitted to the government of Tours.

The Genteur family, owner from the 1820s, played a key role in the history of the estate. Maximilian Simon Genteur (1815–82), a lawyer and former prefect, purchased after 1880 wine lands ravaged by the phylloxera to plant trees (poplars, elms), forming today the woods of La Chapelle. In 1889 his successor Gaston Cottreau undertook restorations. The castle, sold by auction in 2014, became a hotel establishment after sheltering a specialized college (1945–1964) and then an educational unit of the Ministry of Justice (1964–2009).

The site also contains an archaeological heritage: a Gallo-Roman place of worship and a circular enclosure are listed nearby in the local planning plan of 2019. These remains, among 19 others on the town, highlight the former occupation of the place. The current estate (4,350 m2 of castle, 5 hectares of park) preserves common buildings organized around a courtyard, as well as a wooded park resulting from 19th century plantations.

During the Second World War, the German military command requisitioned the castle again (1940–44). After 1945, he hosted holiday colonies ( 1950s) before his conversion to an educational institution. Heirs Genteur sold some of the woods between 1941 and 1943 for heating, splitting the estate into 250 plots today mostly private. The wood of Vaussoudun, the heritage of these plantations, remains a communal natural space.

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