All
chateaux have a history behind them which is sometimes epic, heroic 01 which
bears witness to the greatness and pomp of their owners. Others have, however,
come through the centuries displaying an exemplary wisdom, their lords more
often than not simply running the village nestled next to their walls and
surrounding land.
On several occasions over
the centuries, History (with a capital H) has had an appointment with Chissay.
Situated between Montrichard and Chenonceaux, this former fortress was built
under Charles VII for the chancellor of France Pierre Berard, husband of Anne
de Ronsard. As many royal acts mention, Charles VII and Louis XI stayed here.
On
19 April 1513 Berard sold the estate to Philibert Babou, lord of la Bourdaisiere,
King's treasurer and superintendent of finances, for the sum of 16,690 pounds.
The chateau remained in the hands of the family then passed to the Duke of
Choiseul up to the eve of the Revolution.
Choiseul
transferred Chissay to his friend Jean-Baptiste de Bue, a man of merit and
fortune who was to become acquainted with revolutionary prisons. On his
death in 1795, Chissay became the property of Marie-Jacques Gaigneron, count
of Marolles, allied by his mother to the Empress Josephine.
For nearly half
a century, Gaigneron remained owner of Chissay and mayor of the commune.
The chateau underwent
various fortunes, its architecture being added to over the centuries by
its different owners. Successively run by the Baron and Baroness de Gartempe,
then by their descendants the Costa de Beauregard, it was the members of
this family who, in June 1940, received Mr Paul Raynaud, the head of the
government who was to set up his headquarters here.
The main salon
was the meeting place for political and military conferences. Chissay received
General Weygand, British Ambassador, ministers... liaising with the President
of the Republic 20 miles away at the chateau of Cange. On the 12th June,
General de Gaulle arrived at Chissay to present Mr Paul Raynaud with his
project for a Breton citadel. Unable to convince the head of government
that his strategy was the right one, he then flew to London at the same
time as the government was to head towards Bordeaux.