What Do You Do with an Old Château?

We can see this petit and elegant château from our balcony in our Beaune flat. It is now home to a wine domaine.

There are thousands and thousands of châteaux in France. Some are as grand as Versailles, some are smallish and rustic and turreted and neglected. So what does one DO with a surfeit of châteaux? They are big and drafty and horriibly expensive to maintain. They are also wonderfully historic and fascinating. Only the intrepid take them on.

Of course many are private residences. But they have other uses, necessary sometimes to keep them afloat. This is the first of an occasional series on the possibilities, should you decide you simply must have a turret of your own.

We begin our château research with a visit to the Chateau de Savigny- les- Beaunes, just north of Beaune.

The château was built  in 1340 for the Duke of Eudes, then was dismantled in 1478 when Louis XI got into a dust-up with Marie of Burgundy. It was restored  in the early 17th century, then in 1972 it was purchased by Michel Pont. He is a local prominent vigneron and former race car driver, and apparently needed a lot of space for his collection of anything that moves. The owners live here, but the grounds, out-buildings, and first floor are open to the public. The château's purpose is to display his collection of vehicles and planes from every era. He has thousands. Among the collections are large numbers of: race cars, tractors, fire trucks, planes, helicopters, motorcycles, plus a few amphibious vehicles.

It's rather astonishing.  I'm fond of quirky things like this. This is a man with a Passion, and apparently a very understanding and patient wife ("Dear, do we really need one more fighter plane?"). So off we went. Here is the château, and a sign that shows the collection visitors will see: 

The sign reads: "80 fighter planes, 2500 model airplanes, 600 model cars, 1000 model motorcycles, 150 motorcycles, 36 race cars, 40 vigneron tractors from the 1950's, 20 fire trucks, and 150 vintage tools of the wine trade."

 

We started off with the race cars:

 

Then on to les motos, or motorcylces:

 

This moto has a sort of R2-D2 vibe going on:

 

Old wine tractors. That's Ron, and our friends Julie and Paul, who joined us:

 

Then to the planes. LOTS of planes.

 

And more planes.

 

Then there were the fire trucks

 

These are some kind of crazy old hovercrafts or amphibious vehicles:

 

The entrance to the château. After all the collections, the château was a bit of an anticlimax!

 

 

In the COMMENTS: Suzanne, I do hope you get to France again. Michaela, I hope you are out of the line of fire in California. Connie, I did not know you shared a birthday with Nicole, so joyeux anniversaire and I'm sorry you weren't here for the celebration! Merci Francine, le voyage s'est bien passé et Annecy est magnifique comme d'habitude! Paula, I love the expression,“la douceur de la vie”, it's the main reason we're here! J, masks here are required on busy urban streets, at the markets, and anywhere inside unless you are at the table eating and drinking.

Favorite READS: Suzanne says books are "like chocolate truffles to me", so we are going to be fat and happy this week! We have tons of recommendations (so many that I'm going to skip the links this week). Suzanne likes Writers and Lovers, anything by Ann Tyler,  The Boy in the Field, Two Extraordinary Women, and  she says Louise Penny's new Gamache was out on Sept. 1st. Next up, Michaela's choice, Julian Barnes' The Man in the Red Coat, set in Paris, sounds great for a French fix. Page has three for us: Grainger's The Star and the Shamrock, the sequel is The Emerald Horizon, the third is The Hard Way Home. More French connections from Anne Marie, who is reading Shooting at Castle Rock, Martin Walker (Dordogne), which I just finished as well; Tales From the Hilltop, Tony Lewis (Cordes-sur-Ciel); and My Grape Year, Laura Bradbury (Côte d'Or). Marsha has just named her new kitten Maisie, after the Maisie Dobbs books written by Jacqueline Winspear, so they must be good. Natalia says The Collector's Apprentice by B.A. Shapiro is a real page turner.

 

 

Comments

[Chris]

Now, have you missed your vocation? xx

[Paula]

My dear friend and her companion of many years moved from her lovely modern(ish) home in the Île de France to her family’s ancestral chateau in Gascony. The current iteration was constructed about 400 years ago, The classically designed home, stables, and outbuildings retain most of their17th century charm and furnishings—Aubusson tapestries, a billiard table, a portrait of family friend—Marie Antoinette— on the wall. Still, it was , completely updated—in 1920. Nothing much has been done since. There are two salle de bains, one in each wing which you have to use with the utmost care or the plumbing will explode. There are 3 wc’s for 17 bedrooms. Our bedroom had an adjacent room with 1920’s fixtrues containing a sink and bidet.

The electricity is an adventure. When you plug in your iPad, the outlet emits sparks. Don’t even think about using a hair dryer. The kitchen is a nightmare (new in 1885). The wood stove the size of a small car doesn’t work. The stone sink has a crack but the light from the arched windows is inspirational.

The worst is, of course, the roof. There is water damage everywhere —peeling wall paper and falling plaster. Our friend has money to replace the roof on one wing but, because the chateau is classified as historic,it is taking her years to get approval from the French bureaucracy. All that moisture gives added encouragement to the wood worms in the floor boards.

I could go on here but, the place is charming inspite of it’s problems and we can’t wait to visit them again once the pandemic is over.

[Jane Williamson]

Some of it looks a bit like a scrapyard.
It is really boy's toys.
What a shame that the house was a let down.
Our chateau at Curtil-sous-Buffiere is in a very sad of disrepair.
It only has thirteen hectares of poor farmland with it, so not a viable proposition.
The most interesting thing is the carving above the door:
Fish and visitors go off after three days.

[Debbie Ambrous]

Lynn, we had planned to see this chateau when we were in Burgundy last time, but never made it there. So, I was very glad to see your blog story. I just finished reading "Villa Page" a short book about a couple who buy a house in the Dordogne. It is written by husband and wife with each taking turns in writing a chapter. (They were writers for television with "Murder She Wrote" and "In the Heat of the Night" in their credits) Now, there's an idea for you and Ron! I didn't use this idea of He said/She said, but my husband provides lots of material for a book! Always enjoy your stories!

[Christine Webb-Curtis]

We would visit Chavigny-les-Beaunes in a heartbeat. My husband, in particular, loves old things that move as well. Anne Marie recommended Caro Feely's trilogy, Grape Expectations, Saving our Skins, and Glass Half Full. I'm reading the first one about the travails of ex-pats restarting an old vineyard in Saussignac (where we spent a glorious week several years ago--longing to return). You may have recommended these in a prior blog, but I didn't take note if you did.

We follow the constantly changing Covid circumstances in la belle france with anticipation. Stay well, folks.

Chris

[Frank Levin]

Obsession can be a wonderful thing sometimes. Because of the obsession of M. Pont objects are being preserved and grouped so they can be appreciated into the future. We once stayed at Chateau La Flocilliere which had been inherited as a ruin by M. Le Comte Vignal. It became his obsession and his career. He and his wife have spent their lives restoring everything from the keep, which dates from the ninth century to the later parts of the chateau which had been demolished during the revolution. We stayed in a marvelous, round room in one of the towers. The bathroom was the size of the living room of our home. The couple spent years gathering the furnishings to make the place a wonderful chateau-hotel. It is now in the hands of their son who continues the obsession. Without their obsessions it wouod still be a pile of rubble.

[Francine Martinie Chough]

Merci pour cette belle visite que j’ai faite il y a longtemps. Pierre Pont est très connu dans la région. C’est sûr qu’en Bourgogne on apprécie « la douceur de vivre ». Si vous allez dans la Bresse près de Bourg en Bresse ne ratez pas Brou et son magnifique Monastère royal. Splendide architecture de gothique flamboyant !
Bien à vous!
Francine

[anne marie]

Related to Christine Webb-Curtis post: there is a Château Saussignac, maybe another charming château for you to explore and write about, Lynn.

[Natalia]

Lynn,this just captures my imagination!I never even imagined that someone these days could own their own chateau,much less fill it with every collectible of their hearts' desires.
I completely agree with your analogy here:Michel Pont does indeed have a most understanding wife!!
(PS where you permitted to see the kitchen or the library?Oh!What gorgeous books they must possess!!)
Speaking of books,what wonderful suggestions!!

[Betina]

I discovered this chateau online after two family trips to Burgundy and, sadly, after my dad passed away. He was career Air Force and would have LOVED seeing the planes and identifying them for our entertainment, as well all the other treasures. It is now on my list for my next trip to France (whenever Americans can be considered safe to travel). Thanks for the virtual visit!