The castle of Belsis, nestled in its green setting, construction as the output of a 17th century tale characterized by its two small round towers and its two large terraces, observes with benevolence the village of Sainte Eulalie d'Ans located on the opposite shore of the Auvezère river whose course runs along its lands
The Château de Belsis, the construction of which dates back to the 18th century, probably owes its name to the Latin BELSA / BELSIS meaning "meadow". Surrounded by 14 hectares of land where the herds of the previous owners once grazed, there are also various constructions testifying to an agricultural past. Hidden by a curtain of trees, it reveals itself to the eye by going up its alley, opening out in front of its white facade mixing Louis XVI and Louis Philippe styles: yellow stones surround the windows with geometric patterns topped with rosettes, 2 large terraces decorate almost symmetricaly each wing, 2 small towers containing the stairs (leading upstairs) at the rear. Having belonged for 200 years to the same family from Limousin and northern France, one of its owners is a colonel awarded with the Legion of Honor, another a former mayor of Sainte Eulalie d'Ans.
Acquired in 2017, its current owners, passionate and fallen in love with the place, are working to give it back its former splendor by respecting the history of the castle to make it a place of exchange and artistic meetings with participation in 'Château en Fête', the creation of a Rock festival, 'Vibes in Belsis' whose first edition took place in 2019 and some Blues concerts since 2017.
We also have plans to hold exhibitions-meetings on urban arts, graphic arts (Photos, Illustrations, Comics, ...) and Sculpture by taking advantage of the Park and the outbuildings serving as a showcase for guest artists
With trees approaching 200 years, notably a remarkable oak and awe-inspiring
yew trees, the park of the Château de Belsis must be renovated and redeveloped
in order to offer the public an exhibition and open air promenade. Some trees must be pruned, others replanted because at the end of their life
The old water tower, a vestige of an era without running water, must be
consolidated before it collapses because it is eaten away by rust
The basin must be completely taken over: waterproofing, lighting, filtration and completed with two other cascading basins to offer visitors a quiet moment under the sun of the Périgord
The paths must be redesigned and laid out in order to be able to offer a pleasant route through the park with exhibition points scattered throughout the promenade so that the visitor can indulge in his dreams in front of a tree, a flower, a photo or statue
This renovation project for the Park is part of our braoder renovation project for the château, which needs a deep and complete rehabilitation. In 2019 we started with the renovation of the South and West parts of the slate roof. In 2020 we will finish it with the eastern part. In the years to come, we will continue the renovation as our funding progresses, notably with the facelifts, the change in sanitation, the creation of bathrooms and guest rooms
in addition to the Dartagnans commission, our communication costs and the cost of the rewards we will send you, your contributions will help us move forward in our project according to the steps reached:.
Minimum objective: Level 1: €10,000, which will allow us to finance the dismantling and slaughter of 29 acacias at the end of life, which threaten to fall, and replace them with young shoots, varying the species such as Chestnut, Almond..
If this objective is reached:.
- Level 2: €20,000, which will allow us to finance the further pruning of our
trees, namely 3 big Firs, 1 Leilandi, 1 Catalpa, 4 Charms, 2 big Oaks, 3 Ifs, 3
Maples, 5 Lindens, 5 Chestnut trees and clearing of hedges and groves
- Level 3: 30,000 €, which will allow us to finance the renovation of the basin and the creation of 2 other connected basins
- Level 4: 35,000 €, which will allow us to finance the renovation of the water tower: reinforcement of the structure, replacement of the tank and the pump, lighting of the structure.
- Level 5: 50,000 €, which will allow us to finance the creation of alleys, paths and panels to host future exhibitions, install harnesses for sculpture exhibitions as well as the electrification of the route
We are Béatrice and François, and we are in our fifties
It seems that we are a little bit crazy .. crazy to have embarked on this adventure of renovating the castle of Belsis to make it a place of exchange and culture, and we have no shortage of ideas for that.
But now, we fell in love with this place, this region and it is without regret that we left the Paris area 3 years ago to come and settle in the heart of the county of Ans on the borders of the Périgord Noir , Green and White. We do not see ourselves as the owners of this place but rather as a link for generations to come, and in charge of giving it a new life
Béatrice is the soul of this project, she is entirely dedicated to reviving the area, both in its renovation and decoration and in the artistic activities we offer (Blues at Belsis, Châteaux en Fêtes, Vibes in Belsis).
She is also preparing an exhibition of her art photos of the castle and the region
François tries to remember his general construction courses, that dates ..., to
take care of the various trades which must intervene on the castle and the
domain
How to support this project?
You can support this project:
- by making a donation online by credit card on this page after registration on the Dartagnans website
- by making a bank transfer after registering on the Dartagnans website
- for French donors only, by sending a cheque, on the back of which you will indicate your e-mail address, denominated in the following order "SCI Domaine de Belsis", sent to the following address:
Dartagnans
Campagne {Le Parc du Château de Belsis}
15 rue de Milan
75009 PARIS
We had some piece of article in the local newspapers,
like 'Sud-Ouest'
and 'La Dordogne Libre' :
If you have come this far and have had the patience or the courage to read us to the end, Thank you!
If you have contributed to our project, to make our dream become a little more a reality every day, really a big thank you to you. Your help is extremely precious to us.
If you want to contact us, for more information on our project, because you are in the area and you want to come see us you can contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]
You want to see the last photos of the castle follow us on Facebook or Instagram
The next big event will take place on September 12, 2020, it will be the 2nd edition of Vibes in Belsis which after Patrick Coutin in 2019, will receive Jean-Pierre Morgand (Les Avions).
Would you come ?
And do not hesitate to share our adventure on your networks, small streams make big rivers
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