La Bussière Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Nicknamed the "château des pêcheurs" (the "fishermen's castle"), La Bussière Castle (Loiret) grew out of a fortress raised at the end of the 12th century by Étienne de Feins beside a pond that fed its moat. Rectangular in plan in the Philippian style, with towers and a square gatehouse, it was converted into a country residence in the 16th and 17th centuries by the du Tillet family, who owned it from 1540 until the Revolution: the façades were remodelled, the windows enlarged, the towers heightened with brick, and vast brick outbuildings with a lozenge pattern were added. Louis XIII stayed there on several occasions. Acquired in 1814 by Alphonse de Chasseval, the castle received the Tour Alphonse and new interior decoration in the 19th century. Classified and listed as a historic monument in 1993–1995, it has been open to the public since 1962, with a collection devoted to freshwater fishing, a park and a historic kitchen garden.