Vestige from the Alleman Family’s seignory, the castle of Séchilienne (at about 20 km from Grenoble) is comfortably built on the right side of the Romanche Valley, where its crenelated towers and roofs can’t be missed.
The August 12th 1944, the castle burnt down by German forces as the castle was used as storage place for the Resistance. The municipality only bought it in 1949 when it was penniless. In return, the municipality ceded the amount given by the state to cover war damage to the Electrochemistry factories of Jarrie which used to belong to the former owner of the castle.
The refurbishment of the factories was a priority for France, undergoing reconstruction at that time. Since then, the castle of Séchilienne has continued to deteriorate. Abandoned, it was invaded by brambles, trees and sank into oblivion. We should not be deluded by the appearance of the many adjustments carried out in the 19th century - openwork parapets, false turrets, plaster imitating bosses - we can recognize the remains of a building dating for the most part from the 14th and 15th centuries. The castle is composed of a vast quadrilateral flanked by a round tower and a more massive circular donjon. In this donjon, the floors have been dated to 1455 thanks to the technique of tree-ring dating. From certain perspectives, despite its collapsed floors and ruined roofs, this old dwelling, left to its fate, still cuts a fine figure. In La France méconnue, Mohamed Bekada tells the story of his 2014 tour of France, to discover the French heritage. Regarding the castle of Séchilienne, the author evokes his favorite and closes his testimony with the necessity of clearing the area.
Because of the lack of valorisation, the castle of Séchilienne has been abandoned since its fire of 1944. Today, the municipality wants to create a dynamic beyond the crowdfunding campaign. Freeing the castle from this vegetation is part of the continued development of the park undertaken by the town. Indeed, the site is freely accessible to families and all visitors, a real place for exchanges and meetings, picnics and outdoor activities, and a fitness trail has also been installed.
Today, there is an emergency because ivy has invaded the building, it seeps into the stone and threatens the central structure. As for the trees, they have taken possession of the turrets.
Not designated an Historical Monument, this castle is entirely the responsibility of the rural village of Séchilienne, which represents about 1000 inhabitants. Your help is therefore more than necessary.
This campaign is also about promoting the castle by the valorisation of volunteering and short missions of work (summer job, youth work) with supervising technicians at their disposal.
Following a study of the costs of the work, three levels are put in place.
Minimum objective: 2,500 €, which will finance the removal of vegetation from the direct surroundings of the castle so that it can be made accessible for future works. This is the first stage before any work is carried out on the buildings.
If this objective is achieved :
- Stage 2: €7,300, which will enable work to remove ivy on the building.
- Stage 3: €10,000, which will finance the consolidation of the building following the unbinding phase.
- Stage 4: extension of stage 3. The amount collected will further consolidate the castle.
Owner of the castle since the end of the Second World War, the commune of Séchilienne has trusted the student initiative CARE for Patrimoine to lead the project of a participative financing campaign. Today, as the bearer of the project of de-vegetation, the commune wishes to highlight this castle which, for too long, has remained unknown.
- by making an online donation by credit card on this page after registration on the Dartagnans website
- by making a bank transfer after registration on the Dartagnans website
- by sending a french cheque,with your e-mail address on the back of it, to ‘Trésor Public de Vizille, don pour le château de Séchilienne’ and send it to the following address:
Dartagnans
Campaign {Château de Séchilienne}
15 rue de Milan
75009 PARIS
French donors
Your donation is tax-deductible because it fulfils the conditions set out in articles 200 and 238b of the income tax code. At the end of the fund-raiser, you will receive a tax receipt entitling you to a tax reduction:
- Individuals, you can deduct 66% of your donation up to a maximum of 20% of your taxable income.
- Businesses, the totality of donations to the project enables you to benefit from a reduction in business tax of 60% of the amount donated, up to a maximum of 0.5% of the company's pre-tax turnover.
Making a donation for the Reconquest of the Château de Séchilienne operation means supporting a project to safeguard the small heritage that is too often forgotten. It also means supporting the student initiative CARE for Patrimoine which, if the operation succeeds, will once again offer you the opportunity to make history by proposing new endangered buildings.
Many thanks for your contribution, which is so important. Your mobilization is the key to the success of this operation.
On our website: www.careforpatrimoine.com or on social networks with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. By subscribing to our newsletter, you will be informed about the news of our initiative.
To contact directly the town hall of Séchilienne, carrier of the project, send an email to [email protected].
