The château de Boucard is located at
Le Noyer (
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
), in the
Pays-Fort natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...
,
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 ...
.
History and architecture
The castle was built on the banks of la
grande Sauldre
The Grande Sauldre is an long river of central France. Its source is at Humbligny.
It joins with the Petite Sauldre near Salbris to form the Sauldre. The Sandre considers it as the upper course of the Sauldre.
Communes
; Cher :
* Humbligny, N ...
in the Pays-Fort, near the
Sancerrois
Sancerrois () is a French natural region around Sancerre, Centre-Val de Loire.
The region is identified by its hills, vignoble and the crottin de Chavignol.
Geography
It is considered to lie between the Pays-Fort natural region and la Loire ; ...
in the ancient Boisbelle principality.
Middle-ages
Its name comes from the
Boucard family (or Boucart) from
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
, who became landowners in the
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
, after the wedding of Jean de Boucart with Anne de
Blancafort at the end of the 14th century.
Shortly after their settlement, the castle was built on an ancient feudal mound (''Motte du Plessis'') by Lancelot de Boucart. The castle has kept its medieval styled châtelet entrance, outer walls and angled towers.
Renaissance
The château as we know it today is due for the most part to Antoine de Boucard,
gentilhomme of the house of
François Ier, soldier of the
Italian wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
, who built a new dwelling on the yard's southern angle, around 1520, in
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style. One of his descendants, François de Boucard, rebuilt the wing in 1560. On the façade is written the castle's motto « Victrix patentia fatia » (patience, destiny's winner).
Modern times
From 1671 to 1674,
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
assigned
Philippe de Montaut-Bénac de Navailles to reside with Boucard, who opened the yard up on the Sauldre and arranged the first floor of the northern wing.
The gardening plan was assigned by Dosmont, pupil of the King's architect
Jean-Michel Chevotet
Jean-Michel Chevotet (11 July 1698, Paris – 4 December 1772) was a French architect. He and Pierre Contant d'Ivry were among the most eminent Parisian architects of the day and designed in both the restrained French Rococo manner, known as the ...
, to
fermier général Étienne Perrinet de Jars who became owner of the castle in 1760.
Le Journal de Gien
- 10 avril 2009
The family still owned the castle, but gradually lost interest; the domain was progressively abandoned during the 19th century, to become only a site dedicated to hunting.
20th century restoration
In the 1920s, Charles-Auguste de Bryas, descendant of the Vogüé family inherited the castle. His wife, Hélène de Bryas (born La Rochefoucauld) rediscovered the castle and the gardens threatening to fall into ruins, restored them to render the domain habitable. The family sojourned namely during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In the 1960s, the château was acquired by its present owner, Marie-Henriette de Montabert, daughter of Hélène de Brias, who opened it to the public and made it a stage of la Route Jacques-Cœur in 1965.
The castle and its dependencies, the parks and gardens, moats, canals and bridges allowed a ranking title of 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 ...
on July 10, 1995.
References
External links
Sites des Estivales de Boucard (festival organisé par l'association des Amis de Boucard)
Le château de Boucard sur abcsalles.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boucard
Châteaux in Cher
Monuments historiques of Centre-Val de Loire