Who built and inhabited Beaulieu in the medieval period?

The de Chiel family, an ancient lordship of the Dombes and Bugey regions, is linked to the fortress from the late Middle Ages. Their coat of arms appears on a vault key in the tower. The estate later belonged to the Hindret family until the early eighteenth century.

When and by whom was the castle remodeled in the nineteenth century?

Pierre-Anne de Chaponay and his wife, the owners, are believed to have entrusted architect Viollet-le-Duc with the reconstruction of the towers and restoration of the eastern building. Between 1833 and 1841, Claude-Anthelme Benoît built the park chapel at their request.

How did the castle change function in the twentieth century?

In 1946, the Regional Social Security Fund of Lyon purchased the estate to convert it into a preventorium, a treatment facility that closed in 2013. The municipality then took over the entire site.

Château de Beaulieu

Beaulieu Castle

Morancé

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No visits on recordNo opening hours or ticketing found

Where: Morancé

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Château de Beaulieu stands in Morancé (Rhône), in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The building is registered as a historic monument (dating recorded in the Mérimée database: 15th century, 18th century). No visits are on record for this building.

Beaulieu Castle, formerly known as Château de Trédo, overlooks the southern part of Morancé in the Rhône region. This medieval fortress evolved over centuries under the de Chiel family in the Middle Ages, then the de Chaponay family from 1741 onwards. Lyonnais architect Guillaume-Marie Delorme worked there in 1774, and a major nineteenth-century campaign, likely undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, rebuilt the towers and eastern building. The chapel in the park, constructed between 1833 and 1841 by Claude-Anthelme Benoît, is a notable feature. The estate, comprising the castle, outbuildings, a chapel and gardens, is now owned by the municipality.

What to know

The castle served as a preventorium from 1946 until 2013, during which time it housed a care facility before closing and being acquired by the municipality.
The entire estate, including the castle, chapel, entrance pavilions and formal and landscape gardens, has been protected as a historic monument since February 2021.
The site's origins date back at least to the thirteenth century with a priory built in 1245 by the abbey of the sisters of Saint-Pierre in Lyon.

Where this château is

Morancé · Rhône · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Map of the area around Château de Beaulieu

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This châteauChâteaux within 40 km

Address

69480 Morancé

Directions open from wherever you are, by car or public transport.

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Heritage status: Registered historic monument (inscrit); Mérimée record PA69000075
Period of construction: 15th century, 18th century

Frequently asked

Who built and inhabited Beaulieu in the medieval period?: The de Chiel family, an ancient lordship of the Dombes and Bugey regions, is linked to the fortress from the late Middle Ages. Their coat of arms appears on a vault key in the tower. The estate later belonged to the Hindret family until the early eighteenth century.
When and by whom was the castle remodeled in the nineteenth century?: Pierre-Anne de Chaponay and his wife, the owners, are believed to have entrusted architect Viollet-le-Duc with the reconstruction of the towers and restoration of the eastern building. Between 1833 and 1841, Claude-Anthelme Benoît built the park chapel at their request.
How did the castle change function in the twentieth century?: In 1946, the Regional Social Security Fund of Lyon purchased the estate to convert it into a preventorium, a treatment facility that closed in 2013. The municipality then took over the entire site.