Living with gods

Around the Gallo-Roman sanctuary of the Gué-de-Sciaux

The castle of Gouzon

The castle of Gouzon was named after his last owner, Guy the 3rd of Gouzon, a lord native of the Bourbonnais who married Blanche de Beaumont, owner of this land, at the end of the 13th century. The castle has been bought by the bishop Fort d'Aux in 1350 and preserved until the French Revolution. Very damaged in the 17th century, it has undergone many restoration campaigns during the 19th and the 20th centuries. Its transformation in museum permitted to guarantee its protection. Classified as Historical Monument since 1889, the city of Chauvigny bought it in 1992. Its famous elevator, created by the architect Sylvain Dubuisson in 1993, was a public order from the Fine Arts Delegation.

The impressive profile of the castle kept the tracks of the different stages of its construction. During the 12th century, a first square tower of 11 meters side and 13 meters high has been built, without any openings, except for the door, accessible with a ladder. During the 13th century, its volume has been multiplied by four, and the tower reached 25 meters high. The castle was equipped with elements of comfort as latrines and a dwelling, but the access to the stairs seems to be possible only by ladders, because there are not any tracks of staircases.

Today industrial archaeology Museum, the castle presents, through various rooms, the local energies, industries and productions. The limestone quarries and the porcelain factory, both part of Chauvigny's industrial life to-day, stand side by side with other more ancient and now extinct industrial images such as mills, tile works and lime kilns.

Seen from the terrace, the medieval town of Chauvigny, as well as the Vienne and Talbat valleys offer an exhilharating and unusual panorama.