The Château du Grand-Saint-Jean is a listed chateau in Puyricard, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.
| Château du Grand-Saint-Jean | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Chateau |
| Town or city | Puyricard |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 43°36′10″N 5°22′20″E / 43.6028°N 5.3721°E |
| Completed | 1591 |
Location edit
It is located in Puyricard, a former village now part of the city of Aix-en-Provence, in Provence.[1][2][3] It is located 30 kilometers away from the centre of Aix.[3] It can be accessed via the Chemin du Grand-Saint-Jean.[4]
History edit
The construction of the first chateau and the chapel began in the eleventh century.[1][2] In 1564, King Charles IX of France (1550–1574), Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589) and Henry IV of France (1553–1610) visited the chateau.[5]
The current chateau was built from 1583 to 1591 by Antoine Laurens and Esprit Boyer.[5] In 1622, King Louis XIII of France (1601–1643) visited the chateau.[5] Four decades later, in 1660, King Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) was also a guest.[5]
In 1933, Blanche d'Estienne de Saint-Jean, the heiress to the estate, donated the chateau and its grounds to the city of Aix-en-Provence.[6]
Since the 1990s, an outdoors theatre has been one of the venues of the Aix-en-Provence Festival.[2][3][5] In 2013, Portuguese composer Vasco Mendonça created an opera based at the Château du Grand-Saint-Jean.[5] It is called, The House Taken Over.[5]
Heritage significance edit
It has been listed as a "monument historique" since November 3, 1975.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c Base Mérimée: PA00080996, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ a b c Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Aix-en-Provence 2012, Le Petit Futé, 2012, p. 295 [1]
- ^ a b c Festival d'Aix: Grand Saint-Jean Archived 2014-08-31 at archive.today
- ^ Google Map
- ^ a b c d e f g Grand-Saint-Jean Website Archived 2014-08-31 at archive.today
- ^ La longue marche vers une renaissance du Grand-Saint-Jean, La Provence, March 9, 2015
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