Tea at Trianon: Château de la Chasseigne

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Château de la Chasseigne

From Love Property:

Dating back to the 15th century, this heart-stoppingly gorgeous "secret" château in France's Burgundy region became a favourite among urbex explorers after it was forsaken by its owners in 2017. The property is now out of bounds to intrepid adventurers, but renowned photographer Bryan Sansivero, author of American Decay, was able to capture it in all its faded grandeur when he ventured across the pond this past summer. Click or scroll through for a look around the château, find out why this beguiling piece of history was left to rot and discover what's being done to save it. Known as the "secret château" among the urbex community, who managed to keep its location largely under wraps for a time, the Château de la Chasseigne is fittingly tucked away in a grove of oak trees outside the village of Saint-Parize-le-Châtel in Burgundy's Nièvre department. Approaching the storybook château, you may notice that the two fat round towers and connecting arched gallery to the left seem older than the rest of the property. Built way back in the 15th century by the namesake first owner, nobleman Robert de la Chasseigne, they are all that remains of the original château. (Read more.)