Located on the left bank of the Vézère River, the Château de Sauvebœuf dates back to the 17th century and now belongs to Claude Douce, one of France's leading advertising executives, who purchased it in 1986.
At that time, Claude Douce bought the castle in ruins on a whim during a visit to a real estate agent in Montignac, before restoring it over the years.
“It was raining on the ground floor, there was farm equipment everywhere. Outside, it was a virgin forest. And I bought it in five minutes,” he likes to say.
For the past twenty years, the owners of the château have been working tirelessly to bring this prestigious residence back to life through a complete restoration.
It is a colossal undertaking for this majestic Louis XIII-style architecture, built in the same style as the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris.
Surprises and curiosities
The château consists of a vast, elongated main building framed by pavilions with dormer roofs overlooking the Vézère river, housing, among other things, a very important collection of prehistoric objects.
Among the surprises awaiting visitors are the history of the Sauvebœuf fountains created in 1610 by Nicolas de Rambourg and the story of Alice... thrills and chills guaranteed.
During the visit, you can admire Louis XIII-style furniture, including a 17th-century monk's table, Renaissance tapestry attributed to Aubenarde in the superb Mirabeau room overlooking the Vézère, sculptures including a Pietà from Chaource, paintings by masters of the 18th-century French school and the 17th-century Dutch school...
Not to mention the cabinet of curiosities, which contains formaldehyde, skulls, spiders, rattlesnakes, taxidermy, the ghosts of Boucher De Perthes and Lartet, banned books... and the Museum of Prehistory.
The launch of the château's opening was sponsored by Macha Méril, with Yves Coppens, the famous French paleontologist and paleoanthropologist, acting as sponsor for the museum.
It is open all year round, every day except Saturdays. Its prehistory museum is also open.
Château de Sauvebœuf
24290 Aubas
Tel. 05 53 51 89 46 and 06 25 17 80 62
chateau.de.sauveboeuf@gmail.com
https://www.chateaudesauveboeuf.fr/
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
