CASTLE of PEACE - Château d'Allaman

 

The Château d'Allaman

 

The Count de Vaud, Louis de Savoie, occupied the Castle, as well as later the Count de Rossillon, then the Baron de Russin and also the Seigneur de Denezy Jacques Cerjat. Then purchased by the Countess de Langallerie in 1723, the former Savoyard fortress was changed into a hospitable castle that attracted nobility, power, politics, the on the shores of lake Geneva, just between Geneva and Lausanne and dates back in some parts to the 10th Century.

In 1755 the castle estate was purchased by the Genevois banker Jean-Gaspard de Sellon. It was in Florence that his son, Jean-Jacques "J.J." de Sellon, learned that Leopold, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, had abolished capital punishment and crime had not risen as a result. Apart from the arts acquired, this discovery was to lay the foundation for his future engagement. When becoming heir of Allaman in 1810 he moves immediately from Geneva to the countryside estate and started the works on his 'Peace Politics'. Allaman served as the meeting point and base of his humanitarian activities when uniting several cantons of Switzerland to decide on the abolition of the death penalty. The initiatives by de Sellon resulted in the Castle to be known as the Castle of Peace (Le chateau de la Paix). 

 

After six years he enters the legislative council of Geneva in 1816.

 

From the start, J.J. de Sellon fought continuously against capital punishment and his credo in the absolute respect for human life led him to fight against slavery, social injustice and for harmony and respect of society. In 1830 he founded the Society for Peace (Société de la Paix), the first international organisation for peace on the continent, the forerunner of the League of Nations and the United Nations Organization (UNO).

 

De Sellon was also active in peace processes, strongly advocated for the abolition of the death penalty in Switzerland and is attributed a big share of the success in removing draconic sentences from the courts. 

 

A great admirer of Napoleon I, Jean-Jacques offered hospice to many members of that family and other dignitaries and figures that he admired for their compassion in humanity, both in his elegant townhouse in Geneva and at the vast Castle of Allaman and gave accommodation there to, amongst many others, such political refugees as Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, the Duke of Bassano, the Count Camille Cavour, Victor Hugo, the Empress Josephine, Voltaire as well as to Franz Liszt and George Sand.

 

Voltaire wanted to own the Castle that he filled pages of handwritten offers, that were all declined. Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, begged to be new Lord of the Castle, but even his most generous offers were politely returned. De Sellon held the 'Allaman Castle of Peace' as the 'highest treasure among all his possessions' and refused all offers during his entire lifetime.No money nor commodities could outweigh the 'spirit, inspiration and the peace it offers, he noted.

 

At the death of JJ de Sellon in 1839, the property passed to Hortense de Sellon. As Châtelaine d'Allaman she lived in the Castle until her death in 1905 and Allaman passed to his/her niece Mrs. de Loriol. After Comte Gerard de Loriol in 1973, it is the Inheritance of Loriol which governed the destinies of the field, the property became a public/private estate and crowned 'Grade 1 property of National value and importance' in 1975. 

 

In 1976, it is managed by the Viticultural Company of Perroy that operated the vineyards, while the Castle and annex buildings hosted one of Europe's largest, permanent Antique Exhibitions of Switzerland, until 2005.

 

In 2005, the castle estate, Grand-Cru vineyards, parks, gardens of some 33 hectares are sold to the current owners, a Swiss-German family. 'Restored to the finest Grade', the castle of Allaman shows a coherent and extremely pleasant unit. The architects, who followed one another, during eight centuries, knew to add new elements without harming old. 

 

The interior of the building is not less interesting. One finds there parts moyenâgeuses, in particular in the southern tower, a room of the guards, arched, of which the effect is impressive; castle cellars whose iron gates are armed with large bolts, while the chains are still sealed with the wall; parts of reception of XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries.

 

The interior is decorated with valuable hand-painted wallpapers that are located in the hallways and the Langallery residence. The 'Five Senses' rank amongst the finest papers and are features in all major books of reference for similar artworks.

 

The estate is owned by a Swiss family that has restored the estate over the past years to its new splendour.

 

Chateau Allaman is well known by the connoisseurs of Swiss wines of the Vaud region. 

 

On the property's vineyards some of the finest wines of the region are produced, the Grand Crus of Chateau d'Allaman.

 

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ADDENDUM:

 

1'000 Years of History - Origin of the property - older than recorded

 

Until recent, the year 1253 and 1291 always served as the years of reference for the origins of Château d'Allaman. Some Historians and Archeologists also quoted the 12th Century as the period of Allaman's first appearance.

 

During the recent restoration of the Castle, however the discovery of well-preserved burned wooden beams (that rested in the courtyard some 2 metres below ground for the past hundreds of years) raised questions and the "Carbon 14 method" was applied to determine the age of the burned beams.
 

The results of the C14 Analyses confirms now a much older date of first construction, perhaps as early as 1110 A.D.

 

This established the time of the fire on the wood and now allows to newly calculate the time of the erection of the first building(s) dating back as much as 1040 - 1110 AD (the latter being the date of the fire on the original castle or tower).

 

It is therefore, prudent to conclude that Allaman's beginning can date back to the presence of the Allemanen tribe from the Black Forest that occupied the Lake Alemanique (Lac Leman / Lake of Geneva) from 935 - 1050.

Chateau Allaman can add another 1 - 2 centuries to present nearly 1000 years of exceptional history.
 

Extract from the 2012 Laboratory Report

"Nous avons fait dater au carbone 14 la couche d'incendie qui était visible dans les tranchées dans la cour du château et qui correspondait apparemment à la démolition des structures maçonnées mises au jour dans ces mêmes tranchées.

La datation obtenue est comprise dans la fourchette chronologique 1040-1260, probablement autour de 1110 AD après examen complémentaire des cernes conservés dans le charbon. 

Cela confirme nos hypothèses concernant l'antériorité de ces murs par rapport au château crénelé de 1291 et met également en évidence le grand intérêt archéologique et historique du sous-sol du château."