The Saillant

Once a royal city under the Merovingian dynasty, Le Saillant and the area around it fell under the control of Abby of Beaulieu Sur-Dordogne, located in Southern Corrèze, in the 9th century.  During the 11th century the bishopric of Limoges held power over Le Saillant. 

Guy de Lasteyrie du Saillant became the owner of le Saillant in the 14th century.  From this era dates the castle that surrounds the vestiges of a 12th century dungeon.  This rectangular edifice must have possessed corner towers; of its defences, there still exists the machicoulis that crowned the top of the walls.

The hamlet of Le Saillant is a typical example of a well-preserved 18th century village.   The houses are scattered here and there around the main avenue and the old château chapel.  Villagers used stone and slate, local materials, for the construction of their homes.  The fruit of their labour is an exceptional village that clearly merits preservation.

A castle, a romantic park, a chapel, a bridge, a beautiful river, a village…with these charming attractions, Le Saillant is well worth a visit!

22 Generations in the Castle

Some of the rooms in the castle date from the 12th century, notably the room that now houses the library, the first floor bedroom, and, of course, the foundations of the building.  The feudal charm of the castle dates from the 14th century, when the high courtyard, the 17 towers, the bridge, and the moat were built.  Without a doubt, it was during the 17th century that, under the injunction of Louis XIV, that the château was transformed from a fortress to the elegant home it is today.

Since 1320 the château has belonged to the family of Lasteyrie du Saillant, and since 1970 it has been under the care of Guy de Lasteyrie du Saillant, who headed the beautiful restoration of the building and the gardens.

(Photo :  Guy et Isabelle de Lasteyrie du Saillant with Collete Alliot-Lugat and Jean-Jacques Kantorow)

A Romantic Park

The park that surrounds the château is dotted with grand trees: sequoias, oaks, tulip trees, ash trees, and a Gingko biloba, which is one of the oldest of its kind in France.  This magnificent tree is nicknamed "the tree of golden coins" because of the rich yellow of its fall foliage.  A French garden with finely sculpted boxwood trees surrounds the château's main façade.  Also in the garden are lovely, large hydrangea and rose bushes, along with a flower-bordered kitchen garden, located on the other side of the moat.  The setting of the château is magnificent: surrounded on three sides by a moat fed by three small cascades, from the château one can also hear the music of the Vézère River, which runs along one border of the property. 

Near the château thirty small islands divide the river.  Linked by quaint bridges, the islands are a lovely place for a romantic walk and a place where one can appreciate the silence of the woods punctuated by birdsong and the rustling of leaves.  The château, the woods, the park, the river…it is in this ideal setting where concerts of the Festival de la Vézère are held.  Each summer, the Festival adds instrumental and vocal music of international fame to the profound music of nature at the Château du Saillant. 

The Chapel du Saillant

The Chapel du Saillant was originally an integral part of the château.  The foundations and the radial gothic choir window date from the first construction, which took place during the 13th century.   Jean II de Lasteyrie, Vicomte du Saillant, ordered the second phase of construction in 1620. The family escutcheon, found above the entrance, was hammered during the Revolution when the building was declared "community property". 

The chapel has been restored several times, most significantly from 1978 to 1981, when, thanks to the funding of the AIG Society and with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the old stone alter was restored and the six Chagall stain glass windows were installed.  Under the initiative of Guy de Lasteyerie du Saillant the painter Marc Chagall, assisted by master stained glass window maker Charles Marcq, made the five beautiful windows and the rosace above the entrance.  The windows of the Chapel du Saillant hold a special place in the oeuvre of Chagall.  In his work in the cathedrals of Metz, Rheims, and Mainz; the Synagogue of Jerusalem; the Fraumünster of Zurich; United Nations Headquarters in New York; and the America Windows at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chagall exalts the arts and how they have the power to justify and save the human spirit. 

The Chapel du Saillant is also home to an 18th century altar with several old wooden statues, an 18th century Saint Joseph in gold-painted wood, and above all the Notre Dame du Saillant, a multicoloured statue carved in 1547 out of a single trunk (it was ordered by Peyronnelle des Roffignac, husband of Guillaume de Lasteyrie du Saillant and grandfather of Jean II de Lasteyrie).

A River : the Vézère

The Vézère River, so gracefully spanned by the gothic bridge, is certainly not the least attractive sight at Le Saillant! 

The sources of the Vézère, like those of the Creuse, the Vienne, and the Corrèze, are in the Millevaches Plateau (the name comes from "Mille batz", a Celtic term meaning "1000 sources"), a region famed for its rich hydrological resources.  From its sources located high in the mountains (neighbouring Mount Bessou and Mount Gargan are nearly 1000 meters in height), the Vézère makes its way through a granite basin, one of the oldest rock formations in the world. 

The rivers Bradascou, Brezou, Loyre, and Corrèze empty into the Vézère, giving it a considerable rate of flow.  The combined waters of these rivers and streams, plus the altitude difference (from 900 m to 200 m over ten kilometres) the Vézère undergoes as it cuts through gorges make the Vézère one of the most important rivers for the hydraulic industry.  Of the charming little watermills that still exist along the Vézère, the medieval mills of Treignac and Le Saillant attract the most visitors. 

Once it leaves the mountains and hills of the Massif Central, the Vézère slows its pace as it winds its way through the green valley of the Brive region.  This valley, a depression in multicoloured sandstone traversed by fingers of slate, is characterized by its rich farms, vineyards, and prairies.