Château de Paray

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Paray is located in the commune of Bessay-sur-Allier, in the département of the Allier. Built in 1628 on the site of an old feudal motte, it has a quadrangular central block flanked by two square projecting wings at the north corners, in the style characteristic of early 17th-century Bourbonnais architecture, with the use of brick typical of the Sologne bourbonnaise. The entrance is framed by pilasters surmounted by an entablature decorated with military figures. Inside, the dining room preserves a monumental fireplace depicting Ceres and Bacchus, while a drawing room is decorated with landscape wall paintings in medallions and arabesques. The château belonged notably to Jacques Amable Rollet d'Avaux, first president of the présidial of Auvergne at Riom, who was arrested in 1793 for corresponding with émigrés and supporting the refractory clergy, then tried by the revolutionary tribunal and executed on 13 May 1794; his property was then confiscated and sold as national property. The château was listed as a historic monument by order of 21 March 1988, for its façades, roofs and several interior fireplaces and paintings. It now belongs to a private owner.