Château de Triviers: A Sixteenth-Century Castle and Former Hotel in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Savoy
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Château de Triviers is a sixteenth-century castle in Challes-les-Eaux, France, built around 1550 by the noble Berthier. Its builder served as secretary to the Chamber of Accounts, an institution overseeing the finances of a sovereign state or principality, as well as a procurator and state councillor.
Construction and Berthier Ownership
In 1613, the building became the fortified house of Saint Vincent. A fortified house was a residential building with defensive features, generally smaller and less heavily defended than a major castle or fortress. Berthier’s son François received the title “Lord of Saint Vincent,” linking the family name with the estate.
The property was enlarged in 1637 through the dowry of Lucrèce Raffin de La Biguerne, following her marriage to the then owner, Claude Gaspard. Claude Gaspard later married Catherine Guillet De Montoux, and their son was Alphonse Berthier De Saint Vincent.
Inheritance and Estate Expansion
Alphonse’s son Thomas died without a direct heir in 1700. After prolonged legal disputes, ownership passed to Jean-Louis Berthier De Saint-Vincent in 1710. Living in Italy, Jean-Louis sold the castle for the benefit of his sisters, who remained in Savoie.
One of his sisters married the lawyer Bally. Bally adopted the name “Saint Vincent” and gave it up shortly before the French Revolution. In 1800, the estate belonged to Bally’s granddaughter, Mme Favier De La Biguerne. She enlarged it by 50 hectares, bringing its total area to 108 hectares. After her husband died, she married Marquis Paul d’Oncieu de Chaffardon.
Hotel and Institutional Uses
Louis Vuillerme acquired the castle toward the end of the nineteenth century and converted it into a hotel, the Hôtel d’Angleterre, in 1883. The property later passed to the Chevron-Villette family, who divided it into several apartments in 1890.
During the war, the castle was used as a boarding house. André Rouveyre bought it in 1921 and sold it to Lucien Clanet in 1939. In 1946, it became the seat of the National Civil Aviation Center.
The building returned to hotel use in 1949 and operated as the Hôtel du Château de Triviers until 1956. From that year, it served as a holiday camp for children of workers employed by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyards in Saint-Nazaire. The castle became a hotel again in 1966 under the management of Jean Clanet, Lucien Clanet’s son. In February 1995, it was sold and converted into apartments.
Remains
Château de Triviers stands in the Parc de Triviers, southeast of Challes-les-Eaux. The surviving building is a sixteenth-century château dating from around 1550. Its present use is as apartments, following the conversion carried out after its sale in February 1995.
