Château de Jalès

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Commandery of Jalès, in the commune of Berrias-et-Casteljau in the Ardèche, was founded around 1140 by the Order of the Temple, making it one of the oldest surviving commanderies in France. After the dissolution of the Order of the Temple, it passed to the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 14th century. After a period of decline in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was restored from 1740 onwards by the commander Pierre-Emmanuel de Lauberivière de Quinsonas, who developed new agricultural activities there. In 1782, the Bailli Pierre André de Suffren became its commander. The complex retains a 12th-century chapel with a vaulted semicircular apse and a round-arched doorway, as well as medieval defensive elements. All the buildings have been listed as historic monuments since 23 December 1981. The site now hosts a CNRS research unit (the Archéorient laboratory) as well as the summer festival « Labeaume en musique ».