The château de Bellegarde was significantly modified in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The brick tower on the left (west) side of the main building (the 14th century donjon) was built at the end of the 16th. The windows in the donjon were added in the early 18th. The stairs in my photos below date back to 1782. Here's a link to the Bellegarde municipal web page about the town's old buildings..
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Those stairs are really something else and are, in a way, reminiscent of the stairs in the Cour des Adieux at Fontainebleau. And these excellent photos enhance this impression.
ReplyDeleteI remember an equally impressive staircase at Courances, near Milly-la-Forêt.
Deletechm, I was thinking the same about the steps.
DeleteI never was in the parc at Courances, but saw the chateau from the road and too far away to make out any details. I zoomed my Lumix, though!
DeleteThe facade is definitely made more interesting by the stairs. It seems the stone railings present at Fountainbleau, are not present here at Bellegarde. But they certainly ae dramatic.
ReplyDeleteI've seen steps like that on the silk factories near the Cévennes.
ReplyDeleteChrissoup, was it at Maison Rouge at Saint-Jean-du-Gard?
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