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Described in French Literature as one of the most romantic castles in France.
The Story of Château de Valcreuse
Originally named "Le Châtelet," the château was built around 1850 by Dr. Antoine Bergerault, a Paris-educated physician and local council member. After selling his previous castle in Mairé, Dr. Bergerault purchased this prime land along the banks of the Creuse River, sparing no expense to construct the grand residence and fence the estate. An 1889 inventory reveals a sprawling layout: a bustling basement kitchen, a grand ground-floor vestibule with four living rooms, and nine bedrooms spread across the upper floors. The estate was framed by English-style leisure parks, rolling lawns, a vineyard, an orchard, and a vegetable garden.
Following Dr. Bergerault's passing in 1888, the estate was sold for 40,000 francs to Léonie Combier, daughter of the famous distiller who invented Triple-Sec. Together with her husband, Michel Cazal—a distinguished military career man and chairman of the La Roche-Posay Grand Hôtel—they officially renamed the property "Valcreuse" at the turn of the century.
The estate stayed within the military-aligned Cazal family for generations, even weathering a German bombardment on June 22, 1940, which damaged the eastern facade. It changed hands a few times in the late 20th century before becoming the holiday retreat it is today. Remarkably, the building has altered very little over the last 100 years. While a few exterior decorative wood flourishes have faded into time, the interior remains a beautifully preserved capsule of the 19th century, boasting its original fireplaces, intricate wall paneling, joinery, and parquet floors.
Diamond patterns
The grand staircase
Unique sculptures
The castle is built on a symmetrical rectangular plan, its main facade facing west. The building rises on three levels to the west and four to the east. The architect wanted to distinguish the three bays of the west and east elevations. The alternation of light bricks and dark bricks creates patterns in the shape of flattened diamonds.
Unique sculptures
The grand staircase
Unique sculptures
The main door is covered with a semicircular arch, as are the two windows that frame it. Here again an archivolt crowns the windows. It has the shape of an accolade, embellished with foliage ornaments, resting at the ends on anthropomorphic bases. Each of the sculpted faces is unique.
The grand staircase
The grand staircase
The grand staircase
The grand staircase in the vestibule provides access to the first floor. It presents a first flight of steps, leading to a rest from which return flights start. The handrail is decorated with neogothic trefoil motifs. The paneling, parquet floors and fireplaces have also been preserved.
Trefoil arches
Finials crown the roof
The grand staircase
The decoration of the windows of the exterior bays is complex. The central bay is covered with two paired pointed arches, with trefoil intrados. These two arches meet in a hanging drop with foliage ornaments. The two windows are also covered by pointed arches with a network of trefoil intrados. The three windows are crowned with a gable in accolade, the point decorated with a vegetal crosier. The spandrels are decorated with small blind arcades with trefoil arches.
Finials crown the roof
Finials crown the roof
Finials crown the roof
The top floor is lit by a skylight covered by a pointed arch with a network of intrados forming two twin trilobed arches. The tympanum is decorated with a quatrefoil. Several metal finials crown the roof in several places: at the top of the east and west gables and hips and on the dormers. They are adorned with flowers and foliage. The chimney stacks are built by alternating four courses of light bricks and three courses of dark bricks.
The annexes
Finials crown the roof
Finials crown the roof
To the north-west of the castle, on the edge of the road to Lésigny, a two-story apartment served as a concierge. Further north, a barn-stable is surmounted by a hayloft. This building to the north to two barns with their openings on the gable wall.
A cowshed forms a small courtyard with the barn-cowshed and caretaker's cottage (La Maison des Papillons Bleus).