Viverols

Viverols is a common French, located in the department of the Puy-de-Dôme and the area Auvergne.

Geography

Localities and variations

Hamlets of the Farmhouses, Coussanges, Coussangettes, Plagnols, Pupanin-Haut, Pupanin-Bas, Etruchat, the Winch, Gorce, Bouteyras, Gaillarderie, the Mill of the Counts

has 3km: Eglisolles, 7km: Sauvessanges, 15km: Craponne-on-Arzon (43), 7km: Covering, 15km: Saint-Anthême, 25km: Ambert

History

Viverols is a small village which one is unaware of. The motorists who go from Ambert to Usson-in-Drill to go down then to Saint-Etienne cross the borough without stopping there, it is hardly so in the passing they have time to see dismantled towers and gray walls, then they engage in the valley of Ance and white dust of the road their mask the sight of the antique fortress.

However the castle of Viverols deserves a visit because of the archaeological interest which it represents and because of the memories that it evokes.

The ground of Viverols, which was one of the four châtellenies of Livradois, had for Vassaux: The Large Prior of Auvergne, Lords of Montravel, Vertamy, Fraissonnet, Croz, Montcelard, Cluzet and Chassaing. To the 11th century, Viverols belonged Baffie, to old family of Auvergne, probably originating in the Velay. Dalmas had this seigniory in 1070. Eléonore de Baffie, girl of Guillaume the Old man and Eléonore of Drill, with dead of his/her brother, remained only heiress of this powerful house (1244 -?). The Grivel Abbot in his chronicles of Livradois speaks to us lengthily about this pleasant person and presents it to us like holy. Eléonore married Robert V, Count d' Auvergne. It had to suffer much from the unequal character of her husband, this one was excommunicated to have made imprison Imbert Of the Tower, Chanoine of Paris. To died of Eleonore (1285), the ground of Viverols entered the field of the Counts d' Auvergne and remained one century there. Jean II, Count d' Auvergne at the 14th century sold Viverols in Morinot de Tourzel, lord of Lively, Chambellan of Roy. Morinot had for wire Yves Ier and a grandson Jacques d' Allègre. Yves II, wire of Jacques, who was Lieutenant Général of the armies of Charles VIII and of Louis XII died glorieusement in Ravenne, he was lord of Viverols in 1510. The third wire of Yves II, Christophe, who married in 1530 Madeleine the Wolf De Beauvoir, became then owner of Viverols. It had as wire Gaspard, Chevalier about the King, who married Charlotte De Beaucaire.

The ground of Viverols remained in the house of Lively until the 17th century. In 1665, Claude Allègre, Marquis De Beauvoir, made an exchange with François d' Aurelle, Marquis De Colombine. Claude took half of the Field of Crest and François d' Aurelle became lord of Viverols. Jeanne Henriette d' Aurelle, heiress of this house married at the beginning of the 18th century Joseph de Montagut, Count de Bouzol, General inspector of the Cavalry. De Montagut kept their ground until the Revolution. This family had the beautiful castle of Bouzol in the Loire Valley, with a few kilometers of Puy, and the castles of Plauzat and Montravel in Auvergne. De Montagut remained little in Viverols, they lived especially in Plauzat, however they did not completely forsake their old manor of Livradois, since they made important repairs in there 1740. About the middle of the 18th century, the family of Montagut was combined by marriage with the family of the Room, from this union was born Joachim De Montagut, last lord of Viverols. In 1783, it married Anne-Pauline de Noailles, girl of the Duke D' Ayon De Noailles and back-small-girl by her mother, of the Chancellor of Agnesseau. It does not remain any more of the castle of Viverols that ruins, but these ruins have still beautiful pace and give to this little place of Auvergne much of character. The site of this fortress had been judiciously selected. The hillock of Viverols is indeed placed at an important strategic point with the outlet of the valley of Ance, near the road going of Ambert with Craponne-On-Arzon and with Usson-In-Drill. It is difficult to specify the date on which one started to build the castle. It is probable that before the construction of the fortress, which one sees the ruins today, there was at the top of the hill a tower with mound as there were some with Xe and 11th centuries. According to certain information, which one cannot guarantee the authenticity, a first fortress would have been high at the 11th century by certain Jacob of Viverols. It would have been destroyed on order of Louis XI at the 12th century by the Baron d' Urfé, then rebuilt at the 13th century by De Baffie. The general plan of the castle is pentagonal. Deep ditches surrounded formerly the seigneuriaux buildings, the stables, the commun runs; these ditches are unfortunately filled. In the south and the west, the fortress benefitted from a natural defense, the hill is on this side very abrupt and it is difficult to approach it. On the contrary, to the east and north, the ground from goes away soft inclined and the access to the castle is easy, also on this side raised one strong flanked walls of three round towers.

The vault of the castle was on the prolongation of the seigneuriaux buildings, it was dedicated to Sainte Anne. It was a small construction of square form, it entirely disappeared, it is hardly if one sees the foundations of them. In the south, two quay levels, laid out in steps, mark the sites of the primitive enclosures, a curious unfortunately blocked postern made it possible to pass from the higher enclosure in that lower. One calls this place the “Dry stone walls”.

The turns are 13th century. That which faces the North-East lost its crowning, it can have 10 more or 1é meters in height, the walls which are 2 meters thickness are built out of irregular apparatus. One penetrates inside by a low small door whose semicircular tympanum rests on two profiled consoles. At the ground floor is a room arched in cupola, an opening practiced in the ground, gives access to an underground room. Naturally one “decorates” this tiny room with the name of “oubliettes”, it actually acts of a reserve with vivres… The following tower which faces north presents a device similar to that of the north-eastern tower, even carries low, even arched room, even reduced underground. A narrow staircase makes it possible to arrive at the top. This tower makes about fifteen meters height. One notices, bored in the thickness of the wall, beautiful archères and close to the top, the square holes marking the site of the hourds.

There remain nothing any more of these wonders, the seigneuriaux buildings are in ruins now. The part of the castle less in ruin is in the west. There exists still building a 35 meters length and from 6 to 8 meters broad in which one notices 5 arched rooms, these rooms are in good state but they do not have any decoration. It is there that the garrison of the fortress placed.

Opposite this construction, one can see a beautiful well of the 16th century, it was formerly deep, but the kids of the village by launch stones there filled it little by little. This well is decorated blazons, one distinguishes that from Tourzel and the Wolf.

The third turn, that of western north, is demolished, it contained arched rooms and a spiral staircase. The main door of the castle faces the east, it was defended by a harrow. One still sees the grooves of the chains of the drawbridge, and at the top, of the remainders of machicolation and a kind of waste-gas main representing an animal. On the left the building of the body of guard which is extremely dilapidated, to the southern angle is, there was an elegant watch tower, it remains about it a part. The whole of this part does not appear former to the 15th century.

The once crossed door, one penetrates in the court, this one is divided into two by a building of polygonal plan dating from the end of the 15th century, it is there that were the stables; forty horses could without sorrow be placed there. Formerly this building was not insulated, it was attached to constructions of the south and an arched passage gave access to the second court. One still sees very distinctly the starter of the vault and the pavement of the passage.

The “house of the Master” in the south, was defended outside by a semi-cylindrical tower which remains. This part of the castle was altered in XVe and 16th centuries, the narrow windows were replaced by pretty openings “rebirth” with mullions, the rooms were decorated with taste. There existed, appears there, in Viverols of forts beautiful gilded coffered ceilings which made the admiration of the visitors.

Charles Andrieux in 1924 Editions of the “Friendships Foréziennes and Vellaves”

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

There is a castle-extremely in the village.

To also see the Granet mausoleum on the road of Eglisolles, behind the cemetery.

The lanes are worth also the turning, with the alley of the goats, the house of the Baillif…

Personalities related to the commune

Hector Granet and his/her son
Louis Terrace (1860 - 1938):

Native, Louis Terrasse for his nine years has built chiefs of works of meticulousness: miniature monuments manufactured with thousands of pieces of wood of various gasolines, tables of marquetry carried out containing marble and mother-of-pearl and ivory and this far from the influences of the artistic schools. Its chief of work, the Cathedral of Mills counts 4523 parts of hazel tree of America and ebony. Six years of work. The reconstitution of the castle of Viverols was cut with the penknife in the walnut tree of the country.

Others

the commune of Viverols is adherent Regional natural park Livradois-Drill.

Dates of the principal festivities of the borough:

13 or July 14th: Toro del Fuego on the place of the village
July 29th, 2007: Celebrates of the old trades
First weekend of August: employers' festival

See too

Common of the Puy-de-Dôme

External bonds

Viverols on the site of the national geographical Institute
Viverols on the site of INSEE
Viverols on the site of Quid
Localization of Viverols on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Viverols on Mapquest
Internet site on Viverols

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