Château d’Aulteribe

An exceptional collection of furniture and works of art takes visitors on a journey through the history of the arts, from the splendor of the salon to the intimacy of the bedroom. In particular, it features a collection of stamped furniture from the finest Parisian workshops of the 17th and(…)

An exceptional collection of furniture and works of art takes visitors on a journey through the history of the arts, from the splendor of the salon to the intimacy of the bedroom. In particular, it features a collection of stamped furniture from the finest Parisian workshops of the 17th and 18th centuries, a portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, tapestries from Flanders and Aubusson, porcelain…

The earliest mention of the Aulteribe site dates back to the 13th century. The Cholet family were the first lords. In the second half of the 15th century, the château passed by marriage to the de La Fayette lords.
Charles Motier de La Fayette fortified the Aulteribe square with arrows and gunboats, as attested by the “prixfait” for the work carried out in 1467. The château later belonged to the Monboissier family, before being acquired by the de Pierre family in 1775.

In the 19th century, Joseph de Pierre and his wife Henriette Onslow set about restoring and converting the former residence.

In 1954, the Marquis Henry de Pierre bequeathed the Château d’Aulteribe and its outbuildings, park and forest, as well as its collections, to the French State, with the express wish that the ensemble be protected and used for the artistic education of the public. This wish has been scrupulously respected, allowing visitors to discover this surprising place, located in the heart of the Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park.

Since 1999, the Château d’Aulteribe has been home to a vocational training course in cabinetmaking. A cabinetmaking course unique in France !

The first “brevet technique supérieur des métiers d’art ébénisterie “restauration et création” (BTMS ébénisterie) was created in 1999, on the initiative of the Centre des monuments nationaux, in partnership with the Auvergne Region, the Institut de formation professionnelle (IFM), the Chambre de métiers et de l’artisanat de la Haute-Loire and the Union nationale de l’artisanat et des métiers de l’ameublement (Unama).
Practical work in marquetry cabinetmaking, restoration in the workshop, supervised by a master cabinetmaker, and art history classes are held at the château, where the history of furniture styles and techniques is facilitated by the discovery of its exceptional collections. In the second year, students restore a piece of furniture of their choice with a view to public presentation, and produce a complete dossier on the work studied and restored.

Refuge L.P.O