The Château de Ravel is a castle situated in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (french: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned ...

in 1283, it was given by

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

to his future chancellor, Pierre Flotte. It passed by marriage and inheritance to the d'Estaing family, by the marriage of the heiress Marie Comborcier du Terrail with her cousin Jean d'Estaing, 1647. The interiors were renovated in the 17th and 18th centuries. The present structure dates from a number of periods. The origins of the site date back to 1147, though the existing buildings are 13th century or later. The eastern walls and towers date back to feudal times. The main courtyard is from the 17th century and the western wing from the 18th. The terrace, overlooking the

Limagne The Limagne () is large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It lies entirely within the ''département'' of Puy-de-Dôme. The term is sometimes used to include this, and t ...

countryside and the chain of volcanic hills – the

Chaîne des Puys The Chaîne des Puys () is a north-south oriented chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars in the Massif Central of France. The chain is about 40 km (25 mi) long, and the identified volcanic features, which constitute a volcanic fie ...

– was laid out as a

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

in the 17th century. The castle is regarded as an interesting example of how a medieval castle was converted into a stately home. The 18th century apartments were built without destroying the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

framework or the courtyard façade with its ancient towers. Inside, the same care was taken to include Gothic styles with newer, particularly the chapel and the castle's masterpiece, the Salle des Etats. Among the additions worthy of note are the staircase and entrance hall, the dining room, the great gallery and the music room. The interior has a considerable amount of original furniture. Visitors can see the genealogy room (d'Estaing family portraits), the Salle des Etats with its

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

tiled floor depicting the

coats-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

, the music room (panelling decorated with musical instruments) and the gold room (beamed ceiling, four-poster bed and Aubusson

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

. The great gallery has mementoes of

Admiral d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the ...

, including a scale model of his ship, painting of naval battles and navigation instruments. Privately owned, the Château de Ravel is listed 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 ...

by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

since 1958. Château The castle was used as a location for the 2004 French film ''

Les Choristes ''Les Choristes'' ("The Chorus" or "The Chorus Singers") is an 1877 pastel on monotype by French artist Edgar Degas. Part of a series of similar works depicting daily public entertainment at the time, it shows a group of singers performing a scen ...

'', directed by Christophe Barratier.

Sources

* ''Green Guide: Auvergne, Rhône Valley'', Michelin plc, 1995, p226
Reportage
History (French)

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravel, Chateau Castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Puy-de-Dôme Historic house museums in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Museums in Puy-de-Dôme

See also

Sources

External links