Le Château de Genas

The Château de Genas, its enclosing wall, gate and garden have been protected as a historic monument since 1989.
The land of Cléon d'Andran was a seigneury under the Ancien Régime. Originally belonging to the Adhemar family, it was ceded by the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem to the Counts of Poitiers-Valentinois in 1269, who in turn ceded it to the Taulignan family in 1295. The seigneury of Cléon d'Andran was acquired from the latter in 1523 by the d'Urre family, who sold it to the Sillol family in 1669. The Moutier family, the last lords of Cléon d'Andran, bought the land in 1782.
The de Genas family, extinct since the end of the 19th century, originated in the Dauphiné, near Lyon, where a town now bears its name. The first to bear the Genas name was Jean I in the 13th century. This was the same man who settled in Valence, where the family took root after selling its Genas fiefdom to a relative in 1302.
The Genas family occupies an important place in the annals of Provence, Comtat, Dauphiné and especially the city of Valence. The family's history has been the subject of numerous publications, underscoring its importance. First of all, César de Nostredame in 1613 relates certain facts, then an anonymous author, and above all two authors who have carried out remarkable research: Pithon-Curt, who devotes an important article to the family in his nobiliaire; and the Comte de Balincourt, a descendant of this noble family through his wives, who consulted five to six hundred archive documents and produced a genealogy that is as complete as it is easy to read, with only 42 copies printed.
The origin of the Genas name is a matter of debate. For Balincourt, there is a direct link with the plant, broom, especially since it appears in the Genas coat of arms as early as 1260. However, this explanation is disputed, with some seeing the choice of this plant as a deliberate one, given its significance in the heraldic code.
Little is known about the construction of the château de Genas, the municipal archives having been destroyed twice, in 1621 and 1648. The Genas family's arrival in Cléon dates back to the reign of Louis XIII. Aimar Giraud, a bourgeois from Crest, owned the estate before this time. Pierre de Saulces, a bourgeois from Bourdeaux, married one of Aimar's daughters, Diane. Their daughter Marguerite married Blaise de Genas, seigneur de Beaulieu, on September 25, 1605. Marguerite inherited from her mother, and in part from her uncles, nobles Isaac and Alexandre de Giraud, sieur de Divajeu, land that fell to Hercule Sibeud de Saint-Ferréol, through his marriage to Suzanne de Giraud, Diane's elder sister. The château was built on this land on the Andrans plain. The family moved in in 1614, when Blaise de Genas received the landholdings in Cléon-d'Andran from Aimar Giraud, his wife's grandfather. Blaise de Genas was the son of Alexandre, Seigneur de Beaulieu, near Valence, and Claudine de Dorne, married in 1557. They had a son, Paul, who married Marguerite Estezet de Valence on July 30, 1641. René de Genas (1642-1742), grandson of Blaise and son of Alexandre, bachelor, king's lieutenant in Montélimar, then in Valence, art lover and scholar, inherited his father's estate from Paul de Genas. He died a centenarian in his château. In 1692, he signed a contract with Pierre Vieux, stonemason, for "the supply of stones for Aymard Giraud's grand staircase". "Plan en élévation et perspective du bâtiment et des environs de Genas, situé sur la paroisse de Cléon-d'Andran" (preserved in the Archives Départementales du Gard, 1697). Despite some differences concerning the layout of the park, this drawing is fairly close to the current appearance of the château's façade. In 1739, he drew up an inventory of his furniture and collections (preserved at the Valence media library). He became embroiled in a long legal battle with the Sillols over the vingtain he refused to pay. In René de Genas's will (May 1, 1739, deposited with Maître Mésaugère in Valence), he mentions Christophe de Genas, his nephew in the style of Brittany, living in Crest, with substitution in favor of Pierre de Genas, baron de Vauvert, son of Louis, and if he died without male children, the Château de Genas would revert to the Hôpital Saint-Jean de Valence, which was the case in 1739, with the exception of the furniture, library, family portraits, papers and titles of the Genas family (which remained the property of the Reynaud de Genas family). René de Genas, who died on August 24, 1742, is buried in the Cléon d'andran cemetery.
In 1782, the Saint-Jean de Valence hospital sold the property to M. Béraud, of Nîmes, who sold it in 1817 to Monsieur de Valois, originally from Lyon, captain in the Angoulême regiment. In 1852, the property was sold to the Raffin family, before being taken over by its current owners, who, as fate would have it, are descended from Marguerite de Saulces' brother.
The town of Genas (Rhône) is linked to this family, from whom it takes its name. The de Genas family (now extinct) includes François de Genas (1420-1504), Treasurer General of Finances for Louis XI and Charles VIII.
The central building faces east-west to protect it from the Mistral wind. A wood to the north of the park shelters it from the wind.
The east side of this rectangular building is a so-called "façade décor" in the Italian style, ideal for theatrical or operatic productions thanks to its acoustics. It is flanked by two projecting pavilions at either end (called the "north and south towers" in René de Genas's 1739 description), with curvilinear pediments topped by genoese roofs. The genoise-bordered forebays are served by two additional baluster staircases. A south wing was added in the 19th century without upsetting the overall balance.
One of the original features of the Château de Genas is its double baluster staircase, one of the few in the region, adorned on either side with lions and topped with the Genas family coat of arms (the last Genas family used two lions as supports, with the motto: "pour la Foy, ma Mie, mon Roy", and stamped the coat of arms with a Marquis crown, topped by a lion, armed and crowned).
The complex is described in an 18th-century document as follows: "the farm buildings are separated by a large courtyard from the master's apartment, which is composed of a vaulted first floor, containing a chapel, and a first floor, containing a large hall, in the middle of six master bedrooms, another smaller room with a fireplace, and a few closets and toilets, all with plaster cornice ceilings, parquet flooring, fougeré or tiled floors, a garden, a parterre, and a large low courtyard, enclosed by walls, iron gates and railings". At the time, the estate's land, vines, meadows and woods totaled around 315 square meters.
In the inventory he drew up in 1739, shortly before his death, René de Genas describes "the double staircase giving access to the room above, which is flanked by three rooms on the right and three on the left", as it is today. Similarly, the list of vaulted rooms on the first floor coincides with the current layout.
The Nîmes archives hold a plan of works and extensions (not carried out) dating from the end of the 18th century.
The park featured a sophisticated hydraulic system with several water retention basins and irrigation pipes (no longer in existence). This system was powered by a wind turbine in the orchard, drawing water from a vast underground vaulted room with a river running through it.
The west side features a courtyard and farm buildings, including a beautiful sheepfold.
Regular theatrical performances take place in the park during the summer.
The coat of arms of Blaise de Genas, located on the château's façade, has often been modified. Prior to 1429, the Genas family bore Argent a genet Vert seeded Or. The union of Louis, one of the Genas family, with a daughter of Charles Spifame, of Avignon, but originally from Lucca, led to the adoption of the eagle. François de Genas, president of the Chambre des Comptes du Dauphiné in 1476 and lord of Aiguilles, separated his arms: 1° and 4° to the Genas family and 2° and 3° to the Spifame family, his mother. These are the arms that appear on the pediment of the Château de Genas. The Genas family coat of arms is blazoned as follows: "Or, a broom Vert of four branches in saltire, flowered Or, quarterly 2 and 3 Gules, an eagle Argent beaked and membered Or", to which must be added the Spifame eagles.

Spoken languages

• French

Themes

• Historic patrimony
• Castle