CASTLE LIFE: in Lavérune, the Bishops’ castle, a religious and cultural heritage

À l’origine, la bâtisse était un château féodal puis est devenue un édifice religieux. E.S.

La cour d’honneur de l’ancienne entrée. E.S.

The Bishops' Castle, also called the Lavérune Castle, was a building occupied by the Bishops of Montpellier in the 17th and 18th centuries.

“What we see today, 98% of it, is the result of their developments”, explains the mayor, Roger Caizergues. Here, the mayor refers to the six bishops who succeeded one another at the Château de Lavérune, from the 17th to the 18th century: Charles de Pradel, Joachim Colbert de Croissy, Georges Berger de Charancy, Renaud de Villeneuve, Robert de Durfort and François de Malide.
Before their passage, we must go back to 975, with the first mention of a castle “Castrum de Lavérune”, linked to the passage of the Via Domitia, which crosses the village and the park. Of this castle as such “nothing remains at all “, explains the mayor. Later, other castles were built on these sites: “What we see as it is is the castle when the bishops became its owners in 1692. There were already buildings there but they were to completely transform them“, he explains.”The best known of them, Joachim Colbert de Croissy, nephew of the great Colbert, Louis XIV's finance minister, occupied the castle for 41 years and carried out major works.

On the south side, the reproduction of the French gardens of the time will continue up to the fishpond. E.S.

Colbert develops the castle

Monseigneur de Colbert is the bishop who made the most changes to the château and the park. He brought his residence and garden into line with the taste of Versailles, in keeping with the fashion of the time. Among the major works, an additional floor was added to the château between 1709 and 1711 and a chapel decorated with red marble, white Carrara and gilded bronze was built between 1709 and 1719. But the developments in the park were the most important: installation of ponds and development of the fishpond where it was possible to travel by gondola, as at Versailles. Monseigneur de Colbert completed the work in 1720, after having started it in 1702. He died nearly 20 years later, in 1738.

The 4-hectare park was designed in the style of “French gardens”. E.S.

The fishpond where it was possible to travel by gondola. E.S.

Changes during the Revolution

Until the Revolution, the bishops occupied the castle and in 1792 the last bishop, Monseigneur François de Malide, left the building. The castle was then sold as public property and bought by a merchant, Louis Brunet, who made few changes to it. Centuries later, in 1972, the commune of Lavérune bought the castle and the park: “Few communes bought a park and a castle at that time. Castries and Jacou also bought their own castles. Lavérune was one of the first to do so,” says Roger Caizergues.

A cultural venue

“The question of what we were going to do with this castle arose and we decided to make it a cultural venue but in a broad sense,” explains the mayor. Exhibitions, concerts and events are organised within the castle to bring the building to life, “this”monument”explains”both our roots but it is also a place of life”.“In the building, once the large red door is pushed, the one on the left, because the right being a trompe-l'oeil requested by the bishops in order to give the impression of a larger entrance, directly gives a view of the grand staircase, decorated with the portrait of the five bishops who occupied the building (the sixth, Colbert, is exhibited at the Fabre museum in Montpellier).

The Bishops who lived in the castle. Colbert's portrait is on display at the Fabre Museum in Montpellier. E.S.

On the right, a door, that of the music room, listed as a historic monument. A room decorated with period plasterwork, only maintained and somewhat restored identically. The chandelier and candlesticks have been copied in the style of the period. Today, this room hosts musical events. On the village side, near the Church, is the old door that was originally the main entrance door to the castle, it is also listed as a historic monument. Today, some objects and places from that period have been preserved to keep an imprint of the past.

The music room is listed as a historic monument. E.S.

Originally, the entrance to the castle was through the old gate, which is also a listed historical monument. E.S.

The Hofer-Bury Museum

Within the castle is the Hofer-Bury Museum. Several rooms (formerly living rooms and bedrooms during the time of the bishops) are now dedicated to the exhibition of his works. Roland Hofer-Bury was an art lover who donated his works to the municipality. His collection consists of contemporary paintings and sculptures. Twice a year, the museum renews the artist's collections in order to showcase all of his works. One of the six rooms on the upper floor is dedicated to Wang Wei-Xin, a Chinese painter. In his will, Hofer-Bury had requested that a space be reserved for Wei-Xin's collections. This is done, since 1992, a hundred of his paintings have been permanently on display at the museum, in the Bishops' Castle.
The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 3 p.m. to 18 hours, free access.

One of the rooms of the Hofer-Bury Museum, formerly lounges and bedrooms. E.S.

Inside the building…

The castle is not only a heritage building, it is also a place of life. A media library is installed in what was the former kitchen, lounge and chapel of the residence. Some period objects have been preserved in the rooms. The castle park is freely accessible all day long to come and cool off, walk or play sports. A children's playground is located behind the castle, on the terrace side. Multi-purpose rooms also host events and a space where elderly people can meet has been thought of.

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