Château de Marc Seguin

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Marc Seguin estate, known as Varagnes, is a group of buildings located in Annonay, in the Ardèche. The site has been occupied since the Middle Ages, the Chomel de Varagnes family having lived there from the 11th to the 18th century around a fortified tower. In 1858, the engineer Marc Seguin, then nearly 75 years old, bought the “Varagnes d'en Haut” estate from his father-in-law Mathieu Duret, mayor of Annonay, in order to return to live there after nearly thirty years spent at Fontenay Abbey. He had a double-glazed greenhouse built, inspired by the one at Fontenay, as well as an astronomical observatory, mechanical and chemistry workshops, a library, a painting studio, a chapel able to hold 300 people, a forge, a joinery workshop, a laundry and a saltwater pool with artificial waves. The estate remains the property of the Seguin family and since 2014 has served as a venue for cultural and scientific activities run by the association Les Amis de la Fondation Seguin. Registered as a historic monument in 1992, and again in 2015 for its hydraulic system, it is partially open to the public, notably during the European Heritage Days and for group visits by reservation.