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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Thil Castle Park, located in Léognan (Gironde), is a monument registered since 2015 for its landscape elements, water course and crossings. Unlike the homonymous castle of Saône-et-Loire, this girondin site is marked by a restoration in the 19th century, notably under the impulse of Baron Max Bernard de La Vernette, who entrusted the transformation of it to the architect Changarnier in 1875. The present park, designed by Louis-Bernard Fischer, is part of a landscape logic typical of this time, combining nature and architecture.

The castle, of medieval origin (a strong house built around 1300 by the Tartre), has undergone multiple transformations. Damaged in 1575 by the Saxon reappearances, it was redesigned in the 17th century by Antoine Mercier, then acquired in 1741 by Jacques Perrin de Cypierre, who added a chapel and a terrace. In the 19th century, after a period of abandonment, the Baron de La Vernette undertook a major restoration, giving the castle its present appearance, with conical roofs and 17th century skylights used. At the beginning of the 20th century, the park was built by Philibert Bernard de La Vernette.

In 1947, the estate passed to the Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Campaigns, before being sold in 2017 to Daniel Graf, who partially reopened it for local events. The park, protected since 2015, is distinguished by its water course, bridges and remains of the old greenhouse. Although the castle remains a private property, its park bears witness to the evolution of landscape tastes between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, combining medieval heritage and romantic influences.

The coat of arms of the families Perrin de Cypierre (sloping lion and column) and Bernard de La Vernette (golden band with stars) recall the successions of owners. The chapel, dated 1753, and the armored liter of the Perrin of Cyprus underline the symbolic importance of the place. Today, the Thil Park illustrates both the feudal history of the Gironde and the architectural transformations associated with the changes of owners, while remaining a preserved space, partially accessible at cultural events.

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