Domaine de Charance

From the 10th to the 15th century: A Castle

Since the Middle Ages, a castrum has appeared on the heights of Charance. The family of Saint-Marcel held the fief under the authority of the Counts of Provence. 

On May 12, 1309, the bishop of Gap bought the domain. The castle became the "Château des évêques" and remained so until after the French Revolution.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: The bad blows of history

The fortified house left to abandon is transformed by the bishop Gabriel de Sclaffanatis into "a large house with farm outbuildings".

The domain was then a very vast agricultural domain. In 1569, during the Wars of Religion, the "Reformed" ransacked the estate, which waited until 1644 for Bishop Arthur de Lionne to restore it. A new dramatic episode was the "fire of Gap in 1692". The Duke of Savoy, hostile to Louis XIV, set the town on fire. 

The domain was again destroyed, and the bishops tirelessly rebuilt. This time, it is Charles Benigne Hervé, in 1694, who is at the origin of the current layout of the domain and undoubtedly the author of this residence which became the "Château de Charance" with its first terraces.

18th century: The revenge of the Lumières

Bishop Jacques Marie Caritat de Condorcet decided to make Charance a "residence of pleasure". If the farm buildings kept their own uses, the castle became the object of all the embellishments. Particular attention was paid to the terraced garden. His successor, the bishop Jean Baptiste Marie de Maillé de la Tour Landry, followed suit and made it "the most pleasant castle that could be found twenty places around" and made it his main residence until 1784.

The Revolution put an end to the bishops' multi-century reign over the Château de Charance. The estate, seized as a national asset, was sold at auction on February 26, 1791.

XIXth century : A romantic nature

Rich owners succeeded one another at the castle. For the first time, a vast landscaping ambition was drawn up. From the back of the castle to the foot of the mountain, Charance was transformed into an "English-style" garden: waterfalls, a longer pond, a boat house, and walks in the undergrowth.

In the 20th century: Opening and rebirth

The Domaine was bought in 1973 by the commune of Gap who wished to open it to the public. The terraced garden, listed in 1988 as a Historic Monument, has since been completely renovated.

21st Century: A Message

Charance continues its beautification. This site, with its exceptional charm, to which the Gapençais are very attached, is both a testimony to history and an emblematic figure of environmental preservation.

Source : © Service Domaine de Charance