Presentation
A little history
A key point between the Auvergne, Forez and Bourbonnais regions, Montgilbert was probably built by the Saint-Gérand family around 1250, during the reign of Saint-Louis. Around 1280, it was bought by the Aycelin de Montaigu family, wealthy bourgeois from Auvergne, who were later ennobled.
Through marriage, the château passed to the Vienne family. However, from 1434 to 1439, during the Hundred Years' War, it was confiscated by Rodrigue de Villandrando, a Spanish mercenary in the pay of King Charles VII. Significant alterations were made, including the construction of a bastion and an outer wall.
During the Renaissance, Montgilbert became less and less a place of residence for its owners, the de Saulx-Tavannes family. The Wars of Religion brought bloodshed to the region, and the Bourbonnais became part of France once and for all.
Under Louis XIV, the owners moved to the court. Parts of the château were abandoned and its ruin began. Around 1770, the last heir, Jean Baptiste Bravard d'Eyssat Duprat, returned to Montgilbert with his mother, who allegedly had the roof torn off to force him to leave the outmoded château.
In 1793, the château was sold as national property. In the 19th century, it was used as a stone quarry by local residents, which only accelerated its ruin.
It was listed on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments on October 11, 1930. After a first volunteer workcamp in 1973, the Association de mise en valeur du château de Montgilbert was created in 1974, and joined the REMPART Union the same year.
Architectural description
Built in the 13th century, Château de Montgilbert sits atop a rocky knoll in one of the meanders of the Vareille, a stream that feeds the Sichon, a small tributary of the Allier.
It consists of two speakers:
The outer wall protects the castle on two of its four sides. The outer wall follows the contours of the castle and is reinforced by two round towers, a square tower (porch tower), loopholes, bretches and, in some cases, a parapet walk. Construction is heterogeneous and spread out over time. Some parts are clearly elaborate and designed to accommodate hoardings, while others are limited to a simple wall. The lower courtyard is bounded by the outer wall and the upper castle. Today, this courtyard is empty, but it once housed buildings and outbuildings, of which little remains. This enclosure was modified in the 15th century to adapt it to the new artillery: Gunboats were added, a bastion with thick walls condemned the original entrance, which was too exposed, and a tower (the Angèle tower) was added with an artillery platform.
The high, square-shaped enclosure features round towers at the corners, where fine vaults can still be seen (Chapelle). It also featured square towers at the center of the curtain walls, most of which have now disappeared. The enclosure was crowned by a parapet walk. A gate with a portcullis, framed by two towers ("châtelet d'accès à la cour haute" or "entrance châtelet"), gave access to the upper courtyard, which housed the seigneurial dwellings with the ceremonial hall, the outbuildings with the kitchen and its large fireplace, as well as numerous storerooms: water cistern, wheat silo and cellars beneath the dwellings with their own access staircase. A covered gallery ran alongside the buildings on the upper courtyard side.
From the 15th century onwards, these buildings were modified to make them more comfortable: windows were opened, wall plastering was applied, and a ramp was built to access the postern in the seigneurial dwellings.
The château was then neglected, with rooms abandoned and windows bricked up, until it was completely abandoned at the end of the 18th century, shortly before the French Revolution.
Work carried out by volunteer workcamps since 1973
The first volunteer workcamps began by clearing away the trees and undergrowth that had invaded the ruins, followed by clearing the upper courtyard to reveal the walls of the seigniorial dwellings and outbuildings.
This was followed by the restoration and stonework of the uncovered walls.
Work was also carried out on certain elements of the upper courtyard, such as the entrance châtelet and, more recently, the Tour du Soleil and Tour du Belvédère.
Restoration work is also being carried out on the outer wall: the same wall, the 15th-century bastion, the Angèle tower and loopholes adjacent to it, and the prison tower. In addition to masonry work, archaeological surveys were also carried out on this part of the château.
