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PRESENTATION OF THE Château de Grignan
On a hill rocky hill in the Rhone Valley, surrounded by vineyards, lavender fields and the lovely village of Grignan, you will find the Castle of Grignan (Château de Grignan). Not only is the castle a central figure in local history but also in French literature thanks to the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, aka the Marquise de Sévigné.
The Castle of Grignan has seen many transformations during its history, from medieval fortress to Renaissance castle, to badly damage during the French Revolution, then from almost ruin in the early 20th century, to finally its state today as a restored national historical monument.
The Castle of Grignan offers a 360-degree view of the local countryside and village, along with an interior almost like that found at Versailles. The village of Grignan is typically provincial, soft red tiled roofs, small winding streets, open-air cafés, weekly markets, and tree-lined streets. There is even a weekly truffe (a mushroom type Fungi) market every Sunday morning held at a local café.
In the middle of the 11th Century, Hugues Adhémar was the first important person to make Grignan Castle his home. Prior to that, his ancestors built, in the top of the hill a sort of medieval castle protect by hight walls, used to protect the area of the Lords of the neighbourhoods. A mention of a feudal castle is made in 1106. The castle has been constantly modified during the ages. Gaucher Adhémar (1450-1516) and his son Louis Adhémar (1474-1558) altered the feudal citadel to a modern castle. The south façade, called François I façade, was built in 1545. King François I, visited there with his 3 sons, the queen and the Duke of Vendôme. In 1559, Louis Adhémar died without any children, and his heritage went to his sister Blanche’s son. Blanche was married to Gaspard de Castellane. The daughter of Mme de Sévigné, Françoise-Marguerite, married François (Comte of Grignan), who was the 5th generation from Gaspard de Castellane. The castle was nearly totally destroyed after the Revolution, in 1794. In 1912, Mme Fontaine, a wealthy widow, bought the ruins and started to rebuild them. The property was sold to the district in 1979
HISTORY
Louis Adhemar, governor of Provence, remodelled the medieval castle from 1545 to 1558. From 1668 to 1690, Francois de Castellane-Adhemar turned it into a sumptuous Renaissance palace. Construction on the site of Grignan's present castle was originally begun in the 12th century, but it wasn't until the 13th century that the Adhémar family expanded it into a mighty fortress. In the 1600s, François Adhémar de Monteil transformed the fortress into a luxurious residence. Reduced to ruins in 1773, it was reconstructed in the early 1900s by Madame Fontaine who spent her entire fortune to restore the castle to its former grandeur. Presently, the castle belongs to the Drôme département and is a major tourist attraction.
LODGING
See the listig of the hotels in Grignan
PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS
Château de Grignan
les Châteaux de la Drôme
BP 21
26230 Grignan
Guided tours of the Castle of Grignan are available in English during the high season (July and August).
Activities
During the summer you will attend to the night festivals and will take part in the nights of the correspondence (writing): in the evening, one meet storytellers, readers and calligraphers across the street and in dedicated places. You may also see some famous actors performing around the topic of poetry in the beautiful church or castle garden . During the long summer evenings, you will also see the always very animated night markets. For sure, you will like Grignan.
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