Une vie de château, sans nostalgie
Splendid, majestic even mysterious for the visitors who discover it, the Vollore-Ville castle no longer really has any secrets for his heir, François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette.
The castle has been in the family for 2 centuries. Indeed, four years ago, the descendant of the line settled in the imposing residence, and entered into family history. The one composed of these protagonists whose portraits adorn the walls of the castle today.
Not enough to impress the young lord too much. The latter then weighs with the necessary hindsight, the weight of the heritage.
"It's not a burden," smiles François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette. But this entails responsibilities. This place is so magical, we make it our duty to preserve it. It comes naturally."
The big story
Little throwback. Built in the XNUMXth century, the original castle, of which the Roman keep still remains today, passed into the hands of the Montmorin-SaintHérem family in the XNUMXth century. Significant work will then be carried out. A great fire or the planing of the towers after the revolution marked the decline of the Château de Vollore. It will even be destined then, for a time, to become a stone quarry.
The castle owes its resurrection to the architect of the buildings of France, René Moreau, who will indeed give it its current appearance.
More intimate stories
So much for the great History, that of books. But for François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette, other stories exist, more intimate.
As a child, it was in these huge galleries or the XNUMXth century living room with its French ceiling, "my favorite room, the one with the most beautiful proportions" that François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette would spend part of his childhood on vacation. or weekends.
“My first memories date back to the Christmas holidays. We did not live in the castle. These are holiday memories with the whole family. We took an aperitif in the gallery, opened the presents in yet another room. »
In this same gallery, the one where, under the impetus of the pianist Laurent Martin, the first Concerts de Vollore were held, the lord of the castle still remembers.
“We then stood in the front row on the stairs to listen, with my cousins, above the public. Without anyone seeing us. It was magical ".
A future to build
These more or less ancient times, François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette, talks about it willingly. Even if it is towards the future that he turns. History is not nostalgia. And the man intends to write the next chapter of a castle that has been constantly reinventing itself for half a century. Its survival depends on it. From the opening to the public in the seventies, the building then expanded its tourist offer by hosting receptions and then offering guest rooms from 1997.
Today, François-Xavier Aubert La Fayette continues the path traced by the previous generation and opens the gates of the Vollore Castle. Two new activities, one Escape game and a wandering in the form of a police investigation have thus enriched the offer since this year. "The idea is not to let myself be locked into a single activity", explains the man who therefore left the Paris region and a post of management controller to embark on castle life. An existence a thousand leagues from that of his illustrious portraitized ancestors. The castle is now being shared. It's up to everyone to appropriate a bit of their history.
