The Château d'Assier is located in

Assier Assier (; oc, Assièr) is a commune in the Lot department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Assiérois'' or ''Assiéroises''. Geography Location and access Assier is located some 12& ...

, in the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of south-west

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is an example of the diffusion of Renaissance château architecture from the Loire Valley into other parts of France.

History

Built between 1518 and 1535, the château was commissioned by Jacques Galiot de Genouillac (1465–1546),

Grand Squire of France The Grand Écuyer de France or Grand Squire of France or Grand Equerry of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and a member of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") during the Ancien Régime. The name "écuyer", the French ...

under

King François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. The château was designed as a large quadrangle, on each side, flanked by massive round towers at each corner, capped with

ogival An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking. Etymology The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...

domes. Jeanne, only heiress of Galiot de Genouillac, married Charles de Crussol, vicomte d'Uzès (1483–1546). In 1768, their descendant, the duc d'Uzès, sold most of the château to demolition contractors, who pulled down the buildings and sold the materials. The duke retained the west wing for agricultural uses. In spite of the classification of the building as a historic monument, by

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

in 1841, the agricultural use continued until the whole of the surviving building was acquired by the French state in 1934. In 1901, it was registered as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

''. The building is now in the care of the ''

Centre des monuments nationaux The Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) (French, 'National monuments centre') is a French government body (Établissement public à caractère administratif) which conserves, restores and manages historic buildings and sites that are the propert ...

'', and is open to the public. Chateau assier origine

Architecture

The remaining west wing retains its pedimented gateway, which sheltered, in a niche at first floor level, an equestrian statue of Galiot de Genouillac. The courtyard frontage is decorated with two broad friezes, richly carved with emblems referring to the military achievements of Galiot de Genouillac, and to the legend of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. Inside, a grand staircase, vaulted on intersecting ribs, leads up to a marble pillar, decorated with "

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

s", which is thought to be the work of

Jean Goujon Jean Goujon (c. 1510 – c. 1565)Thirion, Jacques (1996). "Goujon, Jean" in ''The Dictionary of Art'', edited by Jane Turner; vol. 13, pp. 225–227. London: Macmillan. Reprinted 1998 with minor corrections: . was a French Renaissance sculpt ...

or one of his pupils. The interior comprises a series of vaulted rooms, decorated with martial trophies, and containing a small museum. The external and interior decoration is typical of the French Renaissance style, with

Classical order An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilization, the arch ...

s (ionic, doric, Corinthian), scenes from the legend of Hercules, such as the

Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a serpentine water monster in Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, whi ...

and the Nemean lion, as well as more personal motifs, such as the cannons, swords, the collar of the

Order of Saint Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , hig ...

. A tower-shaped

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

, dating to 1537, contains 2,500 terracotta nesting boxes, which were accessed by a rotating ladder. Now private property, the dovecote was registered as a ''monument historique'' on 21 November 2005. The mill was built on the site of a medieval mill, and was rebuilt several times.

References

External links

Château d'Assier
''Centre des monuments nationaux'' (English language website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Assier, Chateau D Châteaux in Lot (department) Historic house museums in Occitania (administrative region) Museums in Lot (department) Monuments historiques of Lot (department) Houses completed in 1535 1535 establishments in France Monuments of the Centre des monuments nationaux