Château Talk
A Château – is neither a cat nor water. Discuss…
Our hunt for a home has completely stalled out, but is looking up for the month of March with scheduled visits to six properties in nine days. Each of the six Châteaux span the styles, appearances, and ages of the word known as Château.
One of our readers, thank you Patricia, recently mentioned that Château la Serpent looked more like a fortress rather than a Château, and I thought it was a good time to discuss “Château” – Castle, Palace, Fortress, Domaine, Château, words that all basically mean the same thing to the French. There are of course subtle differences but I have seen them used interchangeably. Castle is the most common translation of the word Château and many real estate websites use the term Castle exclusively, nonetheless… a Château. Palace - palais en français – is a term that I have seen used mostly in the Loire Valley, but still… a Château. Fortress or fortified castle is used more in the South as many Chateaux resemble a stone fortress rather than the gracious palaces of the Loire. But a Fortress is… a Château. I have seen Domaine used for wine property without a large stately home, for wine property with a large stately home, and a large stately home without vines and wine, yep you guessed it!… a Château!
A Château is defined as a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
the real thing – Château Chenonceau built in the 1500’s
Where it gets really tricky and confusing is style. There are defiantly specific styles that reign supreme in each area of the country, with the grand palaces in the North, the fairytale castles in the middle and the fortresses in the south, but there is no hard rule and you will find styles of other regions interspersed throughout. What seems to really hold true is style versus age. The designs that are most common in your head when you hear the word Château are most likely 19th century, or 19th century recreations of an older style. We are learning to date the properties we are looking at based on a few key elements. If a fairytale castle style has a lot of whimsical and gregarious, stone carvings, it is most likely a 19th century romanticized version of a mediaeval castle. If the rooms are smaller and there are indoor corridors (hallways), most likely 19th century Château. Like most things the originals are more austere with delicate and gentle use of decoration that befits the time, where as the recreations, renaissance, or revivals of eras tend to be more over the top with modern conveniences of the time. One that we have seen, Château de Cadres is a perfect example of this. Built in the 1880’s in a romantic, bigger than life renaissance style, but with very contemporary 1880’s interiors.
a gothic revival Château built in the late 1800’s
Adding to the confusion of style and age is the countless years of renovations. Modernizations! Interiors removed and replaced by the de rigueur or de la mode, styles that were the current fashion/designs of the time. The inventions of indoor plumbing, indoor lighting and power sources, ways of heating beyond an open fire, and now air conditioning where spaces need to be cooled as the temperatures rise. These renovations certainly happen today and will continue to happen as we move forward in time.
A selection of Châteaux from the 14th through the 18th Centuries… just like buttah!
A selection of nineteenth century Châteaux
We are looking in the South of France because of the weather. It is much more akin to Northern California with an abundance of wine and sun. As such the majority of the properties we are looking at are more in the Fortress style of Château. It would seem the Spanish were always a huge threat and needed to be kept at bay. LOL!
We are drawn to the older Châteaux and are trying to stay away from the 19th century properties, but some of them are just so beautiful it is difficult. Quite often I find myself simply standing and staring at a Château that we are viewing, and this feeling washes over me – this is an incredible building with so much history, thoughtful design, impeccable craftsmanship, the best the world had to offer when it was built… and it could be our new home… I'm getting a little verklempt… please… Talk amongst yourselves!