#118 Château de
Berry (Indre), France
1348, 1440 and later
This is NOT an official Lego site
much photographed Château de Sarzay was begun in 1348 by
Guillaume de Barbançois as a major link in a chain of
castles built by the French against the English invaders
during the Hundred Years War. He led a force of 40
knights against the English at nearby town of La Châtre,
looting the town after his victory. His castle was
surrounded by a ditch and adjacent pond, a formidable
curtain wall and six curtain towers, of which only the
Chapel Tower survives. About 1440 Jean de Barbançois
built the roughly 32 by 64 foot rectangular donjon on the
courtyard. The keep was flanked by a machicolated tower
at each corner, plus a similar stair tower in the middle
of the east wall of the donjon. For continuing allegiance
and valor for France, the de Barbançois family was given
the hereditary title Marquis in 1651! The fortunes of the
family gradually faded such that in December 1719 a judge
adjudicated the entire Sarzay estate from the Marquis
François de Barbançois to Louis Charles de la Porte of
Montval - castle, village, pond, 4 dovecots [the whole
Charles and the la Porte family owned the castle from
1719 until 1836. The current entrance, a decorative
ground level doorway, and the several large ground floor
windows, as well as the bridge to/from the farm were
apparently added in the late 18th or early 19th century
during the la Porte era. These changes, evident when
George Sand visited the castle and used it as her
Château Blanchemont in her novel Le Meunier D'Angibault
anti-military and undoubtedly led to her correctly
writing that "the castle of Sarzay...never was of a
great defence". But in fact Château de Sarzay not
only triumphed in the Hundred Years War, but also
survived the Wars of Religion (1562-1598), the Fronde
civil war of 1648, and the French Revolution of 1789!
There were several owners in the 150 years that followed.
In 1912 the château was designated a national monument
in France but the ruin deteriorated (see lower left photo).
Then in 1983 Richard Hurbain and his family bought the
castle for about 800,000 francs, promising to gradually
restore it. The family's efforts have been impeded by the
French government for years. See Smithsonian Magazine,
January 1997, pages 64-73
the long crack down the
south end of the donjon.
Tower - the
only standing remnant
of the inner curtain wall.
left of the outer curtain
- I've no idea how old it is...
or how extensive it is.
remnant of the moat
originally surrounded Sarzay.
|An interior room.|
of the Lego Model
Under construction November 2007
of the castle, with my interpret-
ation of the gatehouse.
over the Chapel Tower. The
Chateau door is 17th century, but I've no
idea where the original was located.
south the kitchen connects the
curtain tower and the chateau. I believe the
current bridge is a late entry to the castle.
from the west shows the
beginning of the donjon with a small
building connecting to the curtain wall.
November 11 the gatehouse is taking
shape with the entrance protected by a
drawbridge, arrowslits and oil chute.
addition to the rising of the Chapel, the
view from the east shows the completed
kitchen with most of its chimney.
curtain towers are taking shape. Each
is modelled after the remaining Chapell
continues on the curtain wall,
the donjon will soon be rising as well.
of the Lego Model
Built November 2007
order of red roof tiles
arrived on December 7...
Chateau de Sarzay was
finished in just a few minutes!
beautiful and well-
with seven turrets
on the curtain wall alone.
chateau itself - with
central stair tower.
guests arrive by coach.
jardin" where the castle's
vegetables are grown.
|Build Your Own|
Other Château de Sarzay pages [the official website and the second are
both in French but can be translated to pretty good effect]:
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Page created and maintained by Robert Carney