The Château du Grand Chavanon (), also known as the Château de Saint-Hubert (), is a historic

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

in Neuvy-sur-Barangeon,

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, France.

History

The chateau was built for the Marquess of Borzas from 1893 to 1897. It was designed by architect

Albert-Félix-Théophile Thomas Albert-Félix-Théophile Thomas (; 11 August 1847 – 1907) was a French architect. Thomas was born in Marseilles, and was a student of Alexis Paccard and Leon Vaudoyer at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He won the first Prix de Rome in ...

. It was acquired by the Archbishop of

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

in 1935, and renovated by architect-monk Paul Bellot from 1935 to 1937. The chateau was acquired by Centrafrican Emperor

Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996) was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR), after seizing power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d ...

in the 1970s. From 1986 to 1995, Bokassa rented it to the Cercle national des combattants, a veteran non-profit organization run by far-right politician Roger Holeindre. The Cercle acquired it from Bokassa in 1995. The chateau hosted the Cadets de France et d'Europe, a summer programme for conservative Catholic youth, until 1999. By the early 2000s, it hosted summer events for the youth wing of the National Front.

Architectural significance

It has been listed as an official historical monument by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

since 31 July 2008.

References

Châteaux in Cher Houses completed in 1897 Monuments historiques of Cher (department) {{France-castle-stub