Château de Montivert

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Montivert stands in the commune of Saint-André-en-Vivarais, in the Ardèche, just below departmental road 112, between Beauvert and the village of Saint-André. A first fortified manor house, with a rectangular main building flanked by two massive keeps, was built here in the early 13th century. The lordship belonged successively to the house of Bronac, attested from 1352, then to the house of Iserand de Chanelosc from 1470, to the house of Montaignac from 1553 to 1744, and finally to the La Croix-Laval family from 1811. Around 1857, the latter had a new Neo-Gothic château built on the site of the old manor, inspired by 19th-century ideas about medieval architecture and attributed to the architect Pierre Martin. The present building forms a quadrilateral whose corners are flanked by corner turrets and towers, decorated with ornamental machicolations and a central projecting bay pierced by an oculus. The interior preserves a mosaic with coats of arms in the vestibule, carved woodwork, coffered ceilings, and a chapel adorned with paintings, woodwork and stained glass of the 19th century. A farm in the classical style, with stables, barn, hayloft and cowshed, completes the estate. The château, its farm and outbuildings, the entrance lodge, the park and the estate's boundary walls have been listed as historic monuments since 12 October 2007. A private property, it remains inhabited and furnished, and can be visited by appointment.