The Château de Montal is a

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

located in the heart of the valley of the Bave in the commune of

Saint-Jean-Lespinasse Saint-Jean-Lespinasse (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Sent Joan Lespinassa'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Lot (department), Lot Departments of France, department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Lot departm ...

in Lot department in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Occitanie, in southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The château has been classified as a historical monuments since 14 June 1909.

History

In 1494, a château known as "Saint-Pierre" was acquired by Robert de Balzac, upon his marriage to Antoinette de Castelnau-Caylus. Robert de Balsac was

Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

(Lord) of Entraygues, Chamberlain to

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

and

Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Agenais Agenais (), or Agenois (), was an ancient region that became a county (Old French: ''conté'' or ''cunté'') of France, south of Périgord.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Agenais". ''Webster's Dictionary#The Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's N ...

. In 1495, he accompanied King Charles VIII to Italy, where the King appointed Balzac Governor of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. In 1496, Balzac's daughter, Jeanne de Balsac d'Entraygues, married Amaury II de Montal, Lord of

Laroquebrou Laroquebrou (; ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cantal department The following is a list of the 246 Communes of France, communes of the Cantal Departments of France, ...

and owner of the

Château de Laroquebrou A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

. After Montal's death in 1510, Jeanne transformed the medieval residence into the

style between 1519 and 1534. She also lost her eldest son Robert in 1523 during the wars in Italy. During the renovations, she included sculpted busts on the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of Amaury, their two sons Dordet and Robert, their daughter Nine and her husband François de Scorailles, and Jeanne herself. In 1591, the château passed into the Pérusse des Cars family through the 1595 marriage of Rose de Montal to François de Pérusse des Cars, 1st

Marquis de Montal A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

Marquis de Merville A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

. In 1771, Count Jean-Jacques de Plas de Tanes acquired the château and the

Seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

of Montal. His son

Antoine Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ...

married a daughter of the Germanic nobility. He was a

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for the nobility in the Estates General in

1789 Events January–March * January – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès publishes the pamphlet '' What Is the Third Estate?'' ('), influential on the French Revolution. * January 7 – The 1788-89 United States presidential election ...

, but had to give up his domain once the French Revolution began. He fled in 1792, the château was ransacked, unsuccessfully offered for sale in January 1793, and then turned into an inn. Upon his return, the château was returned to Antoine, but it was without furnishings and uninhabitable. Instead of returning to the château, he turned it over to his cousin from Plas de Curemonte, whose daughter married Boni de Lavergne.

19th century

The son of Lavergne sold the château to a banker from

Saint-Céré Saint-Céré (; Languedocien: ''Sant Seren'') is a commune in the Lot department, southern France. The commune includes within its borders the castle of Saint-Laurent-les-Tours, where the artist Jean Lurçat lived and worked for many years, a ...

. After his widow's death, the château was again sold to the property merchant Macaire du Verdier in 1858. In 1880, the château was dismantled and sold the sculpted decorations, doors, skylights and fireplaces, nearly everything except the staircase which was to be sold at a later date. The sale of the features brought in 142,000 francs. The removal of the stereotomic main staircase, which would have meant the destruction of the building, did not take place. A second sale of interior decorations took place on 11 December 1903, but was less profitable for the sellers, therefore, the château was sold in 1908 to the industrialist Maurice Fenaille.

20th century

Between 1908 and 1913, Maurice Fenaille undertook the restoration of the château, using his fortune to find, buy or make copies made of items that were scattered around the world. He furnished it with period furniture. On 13 September 1913, before

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. He was a conservative leader, primarily committed to ...

and

Anatole de Monzie Anatole de Monzie (; 22 November 1876, Bazas, Gironde – 11 January 1947, Paris) was a French administrator, encyclopaedist (''Encyclopédie française''), political figure and scholar. His father was a tax collector in Bazas, Gironde where ...

, he donated the restored château to the French State with

life tenancy In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death, when the property rights may rever ...

for himself and his three daughters. Through the donation, the state was able to reinstall three busts which had been bought by the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

during 1881 and 1903 sales as well as a skylight donated from the Kensington Museum, the bust of Robert de Balzac from the Lyon Museum, and the bust of Jeanne de Balzac from the Berlin Museum. On 22 May 1940, Princess Joséphine Charlotte, Prince Baudouin, and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, the three children of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Leopold III of the Belgians, were sent into exile in the Château de Montal. Prince Baudouin fell ill there. After the Belgian surrender to the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s, the royal children left the château in France for

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on June 21, 1940. In March 1943, the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

'' was hidden at the Château de Montal until its relocation to the

in June 1945.

21st century

Since 1 October 2006, the Château de Montal has been under the responsibility of the

Centre des monuments nationaux Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

and open to visitors.

Gallery (June 2018)

Castle of Montal 01.jpg Castle of Montal 02.jpg Castle of Montal 03.jpg Castle of Montal 04.jpg Castle of Montal 05.jpg Castle of Montal 07.jpg Castle of Montal 10.jpg File:Château de Montal - Robert de Montal.jpg Castle of Montal 12.jpg Castle of Montal 13.jpg

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montal, Château de Châteaux in Lot (department) Monuments historiques of Lot (department)