We have walked in the area and would like to have an imprint in my blog on the wonderful towns of my belle France, There is so much to see , doing my best, and glad found me these older paper pictures which now transposing in my blog for you and me, The pictures are old ,so the quality may not as good but the memories are forever, Therefore, here is my take on this is the château d’Ainay-le-Vieil !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The village of Ainay-le-Vieil is located in the Cher dept no 18 in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France, This is a quant picturesque village with only 228 inhabitans located 50 km from Bourges, 191 km from Limoges, 188 km from Poitiers, 293 km from Versailles, and 511 km from my current house, This is a small village but with a beautiful castle worth the detour indeed,
The château d’Ainay-le-Vieil is a medieval castle built in the 14C on the site of a 13C fortress after having bought it from Jacques Coeur, Charles de Bigny had it built between 1500 and 1505 in the Louis XII style, Since 1467, the castle remains in the same family. The current owners are among their ancestors Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Louis XIV nicknamed “Le Petit Carcassonne” because of its circular fortified enclosure, the castle is now part of the Jacques Coeur tourist route.
In the Grand Salon or large living room of the ground floor (1 fl US) is a monumental fireplace decorated with sculpted medallions representing Louis XII and his wife Anne of Brittany, which were received by the Bigny family at the castle. The play is also adorned with the conversion of Saint-Hubert, as well as master canvases evoking the ancestors Colbert of the family, Adjoining the living room and located in a tower, the chapel, which is covered with a carved box ceiling, is provided with beautiful stained glass windows and murals representing scenes from the Gospel, In the billiards room, there are family memories, including the paintings representing the brothers Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanese, and Pierre-David de Colbert- Chabanese, generals of Napoleon. The Salon Vert or green living room, for its part, retains memories of Aligny’s family.
The gardens of the castle, with their rose garden and their chartreuses, were arranged by the families of Aligny,de la Tour d’Auvergne ,and Peyronnet, the current owners. Two late Renaissance style pavilions mark the entrance to the gardens. They date from the beginning of the 17C, as well as the canals of the gardens that surround the «Carré de l’Île » or square island and the derivative channel which feeds the mill now « Bassin de la Roseraie » or rose garden basin. In the 19C, the park became landscape. In the 20C, it owned many and beautiful essences, such as bald cypresses planted on the edge of moats or canals, In 2022, the estate received the gardens prize Grand Trophée Dassault Histoire et Patrimoine or the Great Dassault History and Heritage Trophy.
The Château d’Ainay-le-Vieil is one of the best preserved feudal fortresses in the center of France The castle is in the form of an irregular octagonal enclosure, of more than half hectare, surrounded by moats of moving waters. Deprived of natural defenses like any castle of the plain, it included a second enclosure with double ditch and double bridge-levis. The second enclosure, now missing, contained an area of about three hectares. Inside the enclosure, on the side, built between 1500 and 1505 a pre-Renaissance house in Louis XII style in brick and stone , The interiors are decorated with monumental chimneys of the same style, A chapel is built around 1527, in one of the towers: it is decorated with a ceiling with boxes carved in stone, which testifies to the progress of the Italian influence of the beginnings of the French Renaissance. Mural paintings from the 16C and 17C illustrate the life of Christ. The recent restoration of the paintings makes it possible to distinguish the contributions of subsequent eras: 17C foliage arabesque, 18C sky blue bands,and stencil painting from the 19C, Around 1600, two late Renaissance style pavilions are built in front of the castle by the location of the second enclosure; they mark the entrance to the Renaissance Water Gardens created by the Marquis de Bigny who, close to the King’s Court, thus ceded in fashion, The castle presents two parts, the medieval and the other louis XII style pre-Renaissance: the medieval part: it applies to the castle to be nicknamed “Le Petit Carcassonne” or the small Carcassonne ; the pre-Renaissance part: at the end of the 15C, the dungeon was shot down to make way for a main line in brick and stone pre-Renaissance of Louis XII style
Other things to see here with more time , me think are : The Saint-Martin Church,and the Berry canal that passes through the Pont-Canal de la Tranchass, which the town shares with Colombiers.
A bit of history as the village is really all the castle tell us that the castle is built on a site formerly occupied by Gallo-Romains. Fortified from the High Middle Ages, it is located in the border area which separated the free domains from those of Aquitaine and, later, those of the kings of France from the English territories. This strategic position, particularly until the end of the Hundred Years War, explains the dimension of its double enclosure which assured it force and sustainability, The family of Bourbon, owner of the land, later duchy of Bourbon , as this family has been Capetian since 1249 only, with the Brothers Eudes and Jean de Bourgogne then the son -in -law of the latter, Robert, was the first known lords. The lordship went to the powerful family of the Barres The family of Sully, from the castle of Sully-sur-Loire, has for more than a century owns Ainay-le-Vieil, which serves as a bridgehead to harass the English during the Hundred Years War ,which was the only castle in the region to remain French after the defeat of Poitiers in 1356. At the end of the Franco-English wars, the castle lost its military interest,
The French revolution spares the fortress with total destruction, the Marquis de Bigny then living in Bigny castle, north of Saint-Amand-Montrond. The latter is beheaded and his wife then went into exile in England; His son was killed in the battle of Quiberon who opposed the Breton emigrants to the revolutionary army, In the 19C, his nephew Anatole de Chevenon, who became the new Marquis de Bigny, undertakes the restoration of the castle and the gardens of Ainay, between 1855 and 1860. The park of seven hectares is transformed into a landscaped garden and chartreuses are created near the square island, itself arranged as a vegetable patch in 1954, The baron and the baroness Géraud d’Aligny, parents of the current owners, decide to open the castle to the public. They are on the initiative of the Route du Coeur de la France, the first historic roads in France, with several private castles. It will later become the Route Jacques-Coeur road , In 1988 took place the creation of the Route des Parcs et Jardins de la Région Centre or the Parks and Garden Route in the Center Region, under the auspices of the Historic residence, by Marie-Sol de la Tour d’Auvergne, in order to develop Garden tourism in the region. The association of parks and gardens of the Center region, created from the way, becomes the organization bringing together and representing all the gardens in the Center region, In 1993, following the Baroness Géraud d’Aligny, Auguste D’Aligny is appointed manager of the family SCI, who has six members, all children of the founder.
The official Château d’Ainay le Vieil : https://chateau-ainaylevieil.fr/en/
The official Route Jacques Coeur on the castle : https://route-jacques-coeur.com/etapes/chateau-et-jardins-d-ainay-le-vieil/
The official gardens of France on the Centre Val de Loire region on the castle gardens : https://www.jardins-de-france.com/jardins-du-chateau-dainay-le-vieil
There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belle France, driving all over in my road warrior trails brings out sublime awesome spots with nice memorable family visits of yesteryear always remember and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again hope you enjoy the post on this is château d’Ainay-le-Vieil as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 