Chateau de Valmirande
Ex Nihilo
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep;
And the Spirit moved over the face of the waters.
And from an unseen hand, there arose the spark of existence, imbuing the deep and the firmament with life.
Ex Nihilo – out of nothing
From the void of nothingness, the universe sprang into existence in some 13.8 billion years. Four billion years ago, life emerged ex nihilo on Earth.
Chateau de Valmirande, designed by Bordeaux-born architect Louis Garros, is described as an ex-nihilo creation commissioned in the late 19th century by Baron Bertrand de Lassus – a castle came forth from where nothing existed before.
In an expensive display of wealth, the baron acquired a large tract of land and built a castle surrounded by parklands and gardens.
At a later stage, to the dismay of his architect, he added a small chapel to the left-hand edge of the main estate home. While rather plain on the outside, the inside of the chapel is opulent.
The architect protested that spending as much money on the small chapel as he had on the original castle was madness. But the Barron overruled these concerns, stating that he could not live in a more excellent house than his Lord.
Whilst the chateau is not generally accessible to the public, the inspiring 101-acre park/arboretum is. Created by the famous Bülher brothers in the late 19th century, these gardens are a horticultural haven with over 180 species of trees.
Along the Entrance Road
Across a Meadow
Trunks of an Austrian Black Pine Grove
Today, many of the trees on the estate are over 150 years old.
Growing Old
Traditionally the view tower of a castle was used to observe the progression of a hunt on the estate, but the Baron was fond of mountaineering in the Pyrenees, not hunting. He used his tower for observing his beloved mountains.
Pyrenees South of Valmirande
All in all Parc du Chateau de Valmarinde provided an excellent mid day walk.
A view through the furs
