The first fortified house, also called Château-Vieux, was built on the hill of Vullierens above Morges in 1308 by Pierre de Duin, from a branch of the lords of Duin de Châtel de Conflans, originally from Geneva.[2][3] It was in the form of a Savoyard square protected by two enclosures of which only two towers still remain.[4]
The present castle was built between 1706 and 1712 by Gabriel-Henri de Mestral as a country residence with numerous outbuildings, including a theatre. He had received the estate following a legal action, his uncle, the former owner, having initially chosen to donate it to one of his cousins Bernard de Budé.
The estate remained in the Mestral family until the end of the 19th century when Georgina de Mestral passed it on to her husband, Samuel Bovet. The Bovet family still owns the property today.[5]
Château de Vullierens in 1308 as a fortified house.
The actual castle
Castle architecture
When Gabriel-Henri de Mestral inherited the seigneury, the medieval castle was in a sorry state. He demolished it to rebuild on its ruins a French classical residence, with numerous outbuildings including an orangery.[6][7][8]
Some remains of the imposing medieval building remain: the terrace retaining walls to the south-east and the two towers to the north-east of the castle, with imperial roofs in the 18th century. One of them still has its 1740 clock.[6][7][8]
Thanks to a plot dating from 1685, we know that the medieval castle was surrounded by a crenellated double wall and had a garden and an orchard. According to this old plan, the building had three-storey main buildings, connected by half a dozen towers, one of which was particularly imposing.
Although the plans of the castle cannot be found and the identity of the architect remains unknown to this day, the castle of Vullierens is typical of French classicism, of which it is one of the first examples in Switzerland. It is surrounded by a large formal French garden.[6][7][8]
The castle is composed of a main building flanked by two wings in the same alignment. The main façade, facing southeast, has two levels and nine spans. The central avant-corps, which extends over three spans, is surmounted by a triangular pediment in which Mestral's sculpted arms are found. Corner chains with slits delimit the façade as well as the front body. The two floors are punctuated by large bays separated by soberly moulded cords. The courtyard façade is similar, with the exception of its central front which occupies only one bay, also surmounted by a triangular pediment with the arms of de Mestral. The main courtyard is bounded by a gate and a portal surmounted once again by the coat of arms of the owners. The roof of the castle is four sided with a coyaux.[6][7][8]
The outbuildings are all of a similar architectural style with the main building. The orangery was rebuilt around 1770–1780.[6][7][8]
Castle in 1744
The castle gate and front facade
The castle in Winter
The gardens
The gardens of the castle, called "jardin d'Iris", created by the owner, Doreen Bovet, during the 20th century,[9] are famous for their collection of nearly 50,000 irises visible from late April to late July,[10] more than 400 different varieties: dwarf irises, middlemen, borders, garden irises and Spurias irises. There is also a collection of late tulips, rhododendrons, peonies, roses and lily-lilies among the 7 theme gardens presented: Doreen Garden, Dorianne Garden, Daria Garden, Bunny's Shade Garden, Secret Garden, Muni Garden and Summer Garden.[11][12] Each garden has taken the names of the people who have marked the history of the castle.[13]
Aerial view of Doreen's garden
Border iris present in the gardens of Château de Vullierens
Irises filed at the Château Vullierens
Doreen's Garden, Château de Vullierens.
The sculptures
Within the garden there are several pieces of steel art by the Spanish artist Manuel Torres. About 70 sculptures have been on display in the gardens.[14] These include the Corten steel sculpture My Twist by American artist Beverly Pepper as well as the installation of the Swiss Mireille Fulpius, a labyrinth of intertwined pine joists,[15] ten installations by Frenchman Christian Lapie representing characters made of burnt oak then oiled and painted black.[16] In 2018 sculptures by the Belgian designer Pol Quadens, the English Laura Ford, the Irish Dorothy Cross, the Spanish Carles Valverde and the Cuban Manuel Carbonell were added to the garden.[17]
The sculpture done by Beverly Pepper in Muni's Garden.
A close up of Pol Quadens artwork exhibited on the terrasse of the castle.
The six giants cats of Laura Ford on the terrasse of the castle.
The vineyard and the historical cellars
The estate also includes a vineyard where Chasselas, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Gamaret, Garanoir and Galotta are grown and sold directly to the estate.[18] The historic vineyards extend south of the Château over more than 7 hectares. For many years, environmentally friendly viticulture has been practiced throughout the estate. Parcel monitoring of ripeness to choose the harvest date, yields limited to the vine, manual harvesting with sorting of the grapes into boxes to preserve the integrity of the berries.[19] Under one of the outbuildings of the Château, on the eastern side, is the main cellar of the estate. It dates from the beginning of the 18th century, before the construction of the current Castle, probably built on the foundations of the old fortified castle. Elegantly vaulted, fresh as can be and with a floor covered with round paving stones, it contains six large oval oak vases with a total capacity of 73,000 litres. There are also two palm presses dating from the 19th century. These historic cellars were restored in 1979 by Gilbert Hammel of the house of the same name in Rolle, who has been managing the estate's vines and production since 1975. Until 2012, the harvest was pressed and stored in these cellars by the Château's winegrower.[20]
The vineyards of the castle in Autumn 2018
The Rosé bottle in the vineyards of the castle
The historical cellars of the castle
Portes des Iris
The Collonges farm (the Estate's farm) was built immediately after the reconstruction and redevelopment of the Castle in its current form (1712–1745). It housed about forty heads of cattle.[21] Restored, transformed and converted in 1998, the Collonges farm in Vullierens is now called "Portes des Iris" because of the six glass doors decorated with wrought iron that replaced the wooden ones that gave access to the stables and the barn. It was the artist Dorianne Destenay who, at the beginning of the transformations, was amazed by the view that opened up to her through the six vaulted doors that were wide open for the works. Inspired by the beauty of the garden and the surrounding landscape, she imagined them in glass to preserve the view, then decorated each door with a different wrought iron motif stylized to evoke the irises and birds of the garden.[22]
The ground floor is designed to host events with a capacity of up to 100 people. The modular floor, with a surface area of 550 m2, can accommodate up to 500 visitors.[21] On more than 1000 m2, seven different and modular rooms open on three levels. Under the impressive original framework, the huge attic room is an exclusive place. Not to mention a gigantic garden terrace, with a view of Lake Geneva and the Alps, on which specific tents can be set up for major events.[23]
In 2007, Portes des Iris was approved by the State of Vaud as an exceptional place for civil ceremonies.[24] In an idyllic setting, the former farmhouse has established itself as a major venue for events of all kinds, company events or weddings. The purpose of the commercial company is to invest the profits in the conservation of the castle.[25]
Old farm of the Château de Vullierens, dating from the 18th century
Old farm renovated in 1998
Portes des Iris, private events organization venue
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Vullierens is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges. Vullierens is known for its castle, iris gardens and banqueting center "Portes des Iris".
The Bois de Vincennes, located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
Chillon Castle is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, south of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud. It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives access to the Alpine valley of the Rhône. Chillon is amongst the most visited medieval castles in Switzerland and Europe. Successively occupied by the House of Savoy, then by the Bernese from 1536 until 1798, it now belongs to the State of Vaud and is classified as a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance. The Fort de Chillon, its modern counterpart, is hidden in the steep side of the mountain.
The Château du Rivau is a castle-palace in Lémeré (Indre-et-Loire), in the Touraine region, France. In Rabelais' Gargantua, it was given to captain Tolmere as a reward for his victories in the Picrocholean Wars.
The French formal garden, also called the jardin à la française, is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV and widely copied by other European courts.
Palais de Beaulieu is the historical and emblematic building of the Lausanne convention and exhibition center, located in Lausanne, in the Vaud Canton, Switzerland. The Palais is a convention centre that welcomes mainly conventions and events.
The Château du Grand Jardin was a maison de plaisance attached to the seat at Joinville, Haute-Marne of Claude de Lorraine, duc de Guise, who built it between 1533 and 1546 as a grand pavilion designed for fêtes and entertainments. The Château d'en-bas as it was called at first, formed an annex to the medieval château fort overlooking Joinville, a stronghold of the House of Guise that was demolished at the French Revolution. In addition to its grand festive hall, which dominated the interior, were a suite of semi-private rooms to which the duke and duchess could withdraw with their most honored guests; they included a chamber preceded by its antechamber and a more private garde-robe within, but no bedrooms, as the seat of the Duke, the château de Joinville itself, was so near at hand. The Château du Grand Jardin functioned as a banqueting house on the grandest scale, a fit demonstration of the power and prestige of the head of the House of Guise.
The Fort de Chillon is a twentieth-century fortification directly adjacent to the medieval Château de Chillon on the edge of Lac Léman in Switzerland. The fort secures the road and rail lines that pass along the lakeshore running east from Lausanne to the mountainous interior of Switzerland. The position is an advanced work protecting the approaches to Fortress Saint-Maurice, part of the Swiss National Redoubt. Deactivated as a military post in 1995, it is privately owned and is being converted to a wine cellar.
Château les Carmes Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine estate located in the AOC Pessac-Léognan within the region of Graves.
The Château du Pin is a château in Fabras in Ardèche, southwestern France. It was built in the 12th century by the Chanaleilles family, then was heavily remodelled in the 16th century. The spot then acquired a dual function: military, with the addition of defensive towers, but also with agricultural crops in the field. The Château du Pin is typical of the fortified houses of Ardèche and the Cévennes. Built on a hillside, the castle is now surrounded by contemporary gardens, chestnut trees and dry stone terraces. The set is now a website dedicated to contemporary creation, open to the public since 1994 as a museum.
The Castle of Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges, also called Mestral Castle, is a castle in the municipality of Echichens of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The Château de Gerbéviller is a chateau in the small community of Gerbéviller in Lorraine, France. The site has been occupied since at least the 12th century. The present buildings date from the 17th to 19th centuries, and include the chateau, a theater, a chapel, a pavilion and a unique water nymphaeum. The chateau and chapel were badly damaged during World War I, but have been repaired. They have been protected under various designations since 1945, and since February 1996 have had an overall designation as a historical monument. The park of the chateau with its views over the valley of Mortagne has been a classified natural site since 1999.
The Parc floral de Paris is a public park and botanical garden located within the Bois de Vincennes in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Created in 1969, the park remains the legacy of the international horticultural exposition, which was organised under the auspices of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). It is one of four botanical gardens in Paris, and is the site of major annual flower shows. The nearest metro station to the park is Chateau-de-Vincennes.
Glérolles Castle is situated in the municipality of Saint-Saphorin, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, on the northern shore of Lake Geneva. Its earliest elements date from a fortress built around 1150. The modern building serves as the headquarters for a vineyard of the same name, and as a venue which can be hired to host social events. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of Regional Significance.
The synagogue of Lausanne is a synagogue located on Avenue de Florimont in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland.
Gaston Isidore Allard was a French botanist, entomologist, and founder of The Arboretum Gaston Allard.
Léonore Porchet, is a Swiss politician. A member of the Green Party of Switzerland, Porchet has represented Vaud canton in the National Council since the 2019 Swiss federal election.
Pampigny Castle is a castle in the former municipality of Pampigny of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
↑ François Béboux, «Vullierens [archive]» dans le Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse en ligne, version du 8 avril 2013.
↑ Amédée de Foras, Armorial et nobiliaire de l'ancien duché de Savoie, vol. 2, Grenoble, Allier Frères, 1878 (lire en ligne [archive]), p. 287.
↑ Ric Berger, La contrée de Morges et ses monuments historiques, Éditions Cabédita, coll. «Sites et villages vaudois», 1957 ( ISBN9782882950352), p. 186
1 2 3 4 5 Guide artistique de la Suisse, volume 4a, Berne, p. 281.
1 2 3 4 5 Inventaire des sites construits à protéger en Suisse, Berne, Département fédéral de l'intérieur DFI, 2015, p. 335-347.
↑ «Jardins du Château de Vullierens» [archive], sur wanderland.ch (consulté le 13 décembre 2012).
↑ Par Florence Millioud-Henriques, «Vullierens fait une vraie fleur à la sculpture», 24Heures, 24heures, VQH, 26 mai 2017 (ISSN 1424-4039, lire en ligne [archive]).
↑ " "Iris, un roi dans son Château" de Jacques Roth pour Le Matin Dimanche» [archive], 15 mai 2016.
↑ " Jardins à thème " [archive], sur jardindesiris.ch.
↑ «Irises in every hue: a kaleidoscope of colour in an idyllic Swiss chateau», The daily telegraph, 10 mai 2018 (lire en ligne [archive]).
↑ «L'art en 3D prend l'air à des altitudes très diverses», 24 heures, 21-22 juillet 2018 (lire en ligne [archive]).
↑ " Sentinelle d'acier Magazine Tribune des Arts " [archive].
↑ " 24 Heures par Florence Milloud-Henriques "c'est beau un homme debout" " [archive].
↑ «Article de Tribune des Arts de mai 2018» [archive].
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