Search for Rapunzel leadsto enchanting discoveries

Mary Richardson / Special to American Press

My husband and I had just walked through the tiny village of La Rochepot in the French countryside of Burgundy, noting the lovely old stone buildings, following the narrow winding roadway, feeling glad that we were on foot. Those narrow streets were not made for cars!

The view became more verdant as we walked out of the village. A turret paved in a zig-zag pattern of orange and gold glazed tiles poked through the leaves. It looked very romantic and I thought of Rapunzel’s tower, where she let down her long hair for the Prince.

As the path rounded a patch of trees and gave way to a clearing, a fairy-tale like view greeted us with an honestto-goodness, authentic drawbridge. I hesitated to cross, fearing I might surely be trampled by the Knights of the Round Table riding out on majestic armored steeds.

We had not fallen through the looking glass but had instead stumbled upon the Chateau de La Rochepot, a medieval castle set in the middle of the wine country of Burgundy. And it looked better than Disneyland.

France is full of medieval castles. Nearly 100 castles, medieval strongholds and chateau are open to visitors. Some are now luxury hotels. Some are bed and breakfasts. A great many have wineries. Others are now on France’s list of historic places and are open for exploration. A handful are still private residences but the owners give tours.

Three of the best were located within a few miles of each other — Chateau de la Rochepot, the Château de Châteauneuf and the Château de Commarin. We decided to visit them all.

CHATEAU DE LA ROCHEPOT

My instinct to look for knights at this castle was completely understandable, but I should have been looking for the Knights of the Golden Fleece, not the Round Table. The earliest parts of this castle were built in the 13th century. By the early 15th century, two knights of the realm were in charge: Regenier Pot — Knight of Berry, chamberlain to the King of France, counselor to the King of Burgundy – and later his grandson, Philippe Pot — counselor to King Louis VI, High Steward of Burgundy, and builder of military fortifications. The guide book said he was “the most accomplished knight of his time.” He built the impressive drawbridge.

These two powerful men were immersed in war and diplomacy, but they also had a taste for luxury. They brought the best of everything to Rochepot. It became both a fortress and a sumptuous country home.

The good times at the Chateau did not last. In 1640, Cardinal de Retz owned it; tragically for him, he had so many debts he was forced to sell the chateau at auction. The buyer was the First President of the Parliament of Burgundy, who was immediately hit with huge bills for repairs because, before the ink was dry on the sale, a winter storm demolished five chimneys and all the roofs. He had to buy 40,000 glazed tiles, 5,000 roofing slates, 600 ridgepoles, 500 angle beams, 3,000 other slates, and 20,000 nails. His repairs made it habitable, but not sumptuous. He died in 1653.

The low point for the chateau still hadn’t been reached — that came with the French Revolution. Most of the nobility, including the current Count of La Rochepot, were forced to flee for their lives. The chateau was sacked and stripped: door frames, windows, fireplaces and staircases disappeared, only to reappear in houses in the surrounding areas. In 1799, the French government confiscated and sold what was left. But the old walls proved surprisingly difficult to tear down; the still imposing shell of the Chateau stayed intact for the next 80 years. The picturesque ruins attracted quite the stream of tourists and painters.

The chateau was saved by a woman — a woman who happened to be the wife of the president of the French Republic. In 1893, vacationing in Burgundy, Madame Sadi Carnot chanced upon the romantic ruins. She thought her son, also named Sadi, might like it for Christmas.

“Sadi is enthralled by the gift that I have just offered him,” she gushed in a letter to her second son. “You will never guess what it is! The ruins of La Rochepot…”

Young Sadi was indeed enthralled. He was a military man but a romantic at heart. He decided to restore the palace to its Burgundian glory, hang the expense. And so began one of the most massive restoration projects in French history. It was finished in 1927.

What visitors see today is a faithful restoration of the chateau as it looked at its finest in the 1800s — with modern improvements such as electricity and, of course, a gift shop and a wine store. Visitors are allowed to explore. Climbing a narrow spiral staircase to the top of a turret, we were within touching distance of the glazed multicolored roofing tiles, once a strong symbol of strength and wealth.

That’s when we almost met Rapunzel.

She was gardening. Specifically, she was trying to trim the overgrown vines that were hanging down outside the castle walls. So, dressed in mountain climbing gear, she was about to rappel off the castle tower, shears in hand, blond hair blowing in the breeze. Then she turned around. She had a beard. So, not Rapunzel.

We went in search of another castle.

CHÂTEAU DE CHÂTEAUNEUF

It was a dark and stormy night…. OK, it was noon, the sky was blue and it was 70 degrees with a light breeze. But the austerity of Chateau de Chateauneuf definitely gave off a dark and stormy night vibe. It felt like a person could be murdered here. (That turned out to be true, but I didn’t know it yet.)

This castle is made from big, cold, grey stones and is tucked into an outcropping in a high, nearly vertical cliff. Its original purpose was to protect people from marauding gangs of bandits that roamed during the 100 Years War. I could imagine soldiers aiming their crossbows at potential enemies while the gate keeper shouted “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” or maybe just “Halt!”

But back to the murder.

The lords and ladies of the Chateauneuf family owned these fortifications for nine generations, going back to the 12th century. In 1456, the owner was Catherine de Chateauneuf. Catherine, for reasons known only to her, poisoned her second husband. (I found no mention of what happened to her first husband.) According to a plaque at the castle, Catherine was “dragged on a hurdle to the Conciergerie jail in Paris, then burnt alive on the pig market square.” (Later, during the Reign of Terror, La Conciergerie was known as “the antechamber to the guillotine.” It’s where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned. But back to 1456 …)

Catherine’s being burned to death brought the rule of the Chateauneuf family to an end.

So who would own it next? The Duke of Burgundy, reassuringly named “Philip the Good,” gifted the castle to his advisor Philippe Pot — yes, the same Philippe Pot who was conveniently living only a couple miles away at the Chateau de la Rochepot. Philippe made several improvements – he built a house in the courtyard, a chapel in the new Gothic style, and made the place a little more livable.

Not surprisingly, the French Revolution was just as brutal to Chateauneuf as it was to Rochepot. Coats of arms were chipped off the walls, anything smacking of royalty was destroyed, and anything valuable was “relocated.” The castle was auctioned off. Over time, it passed through several random owners until 1936, when the Earl of Vogue donated it to the State. It is now protected as an historical monument.

Today some of the castle has been restored and decorated with Flemish tapestries and medieval furnishings and weaponry. That portion is open to the public. Tours are routinely given to school children and a very popular room is the bathroom. It has a medieval tub and a stone toilet that voids down the cliff into the abyss below. How could they not be fascinated?

There are charming toy knights (made in China) in the gift shop and people smile a lot. Yet, Chateauneuf still feels like a dark and stormy night.

CHÂTEAU DE COMMARIN

We went off in search of a more cheerful castle and found just the thing in the tiny village of Commarin. A group of happy bikers were chatting as they put on their helmets before leaving and they nodded to us. We felt encouraged.

It was obvious that this chateau was different from the others. Instead of exuding military strength, it is elegant. A guidebook described it as a “palace of stone on a mirror of water.”

It had not been built on a high, rocky cliff like the other two castles. This one is located in a pretty valley and the castle is surrounded by a lovely moat. Yes, there is a drawbridge, but it is wide and has pots of flowers on it. Koi swim in the moat and the gift shop sells bread to feed them.

Perhaps the greatest difference between Commarin and the other palaces is that it is still privately owned by the very same family that built it in 1214. It has never been sold. It has been inherited several times through the female line, so the names have changed, but today’s owners can trace their ownership through 26 generations over 900 years.

Commarin survived the French Revolution just fine. The owner, the Marquis de Damas, didn’t flee. Instead, he planted his feet down Commarin and stayed put. The villagers responded by protecting the chateau — and the Marquis — from harm. He was arrested three times. The first two times he was released because of impassioned protests from the villagers. The third time, he was just lucky — Robespierre died. The Marquis was allowed to return to Commarin, head intact.

The Germans occupied the chateau during World War II, but they respected the building and left the furnishings in place and in good condition. They even protected the parquet floors.

No one was murdered at the Chateau of Commarin, but there was plenty of blood shed over the centuries. Wars were always being fought. One member of the family, Antoine du Blé, defended Paris against Henry IV in 1590 and two horses were slaughtered beneath him. His son would have been the next heir, but he shared his father’s love of warfare. In 1629 he participated in a siege and was shot by a musket; a judgmental guide book intimates that it was his fault because he was showing off. In any case, he died.

Both World Wars took their toll. Charles II de Vogue was killed in 1914 in the Battle of the Marne, and his son, Count Charles Louis de Vogue, died in 1940 at the Battle of the Bulge.

Subsequent generations of the family live there now and the family dog has the run of the grounds. The chateau is open to visitors, but only for guided tours. Visitors are shown beautifully preserved interiors from the reign of Louis XIII. Tapestries date from the 16th century, as do statues, furniture, and decorations. Gold leafed paneling and decorated ceilings are everywhere. Because Commarin was never sacked or destroyed, all the furnishings are original to the chateau. The beds, chairs and tables are the ones the family actually used. The books in the library are the books they read. The portraits on the walls are the ones they hung.

When visitors enter the rooms to see these treasurers, the guide hands them a pair of blue paper booties to go over shoes. It’s to protect the parquet floors. The threat from the Revolution and the German occupation may be over, but the floors need to be protected from a new threat — tourists’ shoes.

I looked at the magnificence of the castle and started to wonder about Rapunzel. She obviously wasn’t here. There were no cliffs.

But then I looked at the bright luster of the parquet floors beneath my blue booties. Who polished them? Was it Cinderella?

Yes, I think it was.

The search continues.

 

*This story first appeared in the American Press on January 22, 2017. 

The Flemish tapestries and medieval furnishings on the Chateau de Chateauneuf have been gathered by the French government to replicate what might have been there before the French Revolution. During that Revolution, castles were stripped and sacked. Most of the aristocratic owners either fled for their lives or lost their heads to the guillotine. (Mary Richardson/Special to the American Press)

The Chateau de la Rochepot was reduced to a shell after the French Revolution. In one of the most extensive restorations of any medieval castle, Sadi Carnot (son of the President of France by the same name) faithfully restored it to how it looked at its prime in the 1700s. It was opened to the public in 1927. (Mary Richardson/Special to the American Press)

The elegant Chateau de Commarin has been described as “a palace of stone on a mirror of water” because of its lovely moat. In contrast to other castles, it was not sacked during the French Revolution, and the same family that built it in 1214 still owns it today. (Mary Richardson/Special to the American Press)