Château d'Usson (Château des Énigmes)

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château d'Usson, known as the Château des Énigmes, is a Renaissance castle built in 1536 at Échebrune by Jean de Rabaine, to plans by Nicolas Bachelier, a pupil of Michelangelo. Partly destroyed during the Wars of Religion because of the Rabaine family's Protestantism, it remained in ruins until the 19th century, when William Augereau devised the unusual project of moving it stone by stone over seven kilometres to Pons, a undertaking that lasted five years. In 1998, Philippe Lapouyade turned it into a puzzle and treasure-hunt park for visitors. The winter garden, covered by a transparent roof supported by wrought-iron arches from the forges of Gustave Eiffel, is a remarkable feature.