Château royal du Vivier

The origins of the estate date back to the 13th century when the land belonged to the Garlande family. In 1293, ownership transferred to Pierre de Chambly and shortly thereafter to Charles de Valois, who initiated the castle's construction, although a manor house existed there as early as 1260. Court painter Évrard d’Orléans designed the interiors in 1308. Numerous French kings, including Philip IV, Philip V, and Charles VI, used the Château as a residence. Philip V issued important ordinances here. A chapel, approved by Pope John XXII in 1316 and dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, was later supplemented by King Philip VI with a chapel dedicated to Saint Louis. In 1352, the wedding of Jeanne de France to Charles II of Navarre took place here, at which point the chapel was elevated to a collegiate church. King Charles V gifted the collegiate church a relic of the True Cross in 1368, granting it the status of a Sainte-Chapelle. The castle's golden age ended with the death of Charles VI. Louis XI transferred the estate to the canons of the Sainte-Chapelle in 1471. Francis I was the last king to visit the Château in 1546, but had to stay in the canons' house due to the royal lodgings being uninhabitable from neglect.