700-Year-Old Abandoned Castle Of A Famous Composer in the Heart of France

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The little crystal things that are shaped like barbells are Victorian Crystal Knife/Utensil Rest to be used at the dinner table or as Paintbrush Rest, etc.

This is absolutely fascinating. Olivier Messiaen was one of the great composers of the 20th century. His Turangalîla-Symphonie, a favourite of mine, is considered an innovative masterpiece. I first heard his work as a teenager, when I found a recording of his "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" in a record shop where I live in Canada. That work was composed when Messiaen was a prisoner of war in the German Stalag VIII-A. Messiaen was a pioneer of electronic music, and composed for the first practical electronic instrument, the Ondes Martenot. Much of his inspiration was drawn from birdsong, and his love of nature. The chateau belonged to the family of his first wife, Claire Delbos. Claire was herself a fine composer, and a highly regarded concert violinist. Unfortunately, she developed serious brain damage from a botched operation, suffered from total amnesia, and ultimately died in a mental institution. In your video, there is a large photograph of her on the wall, taken in happier times. Messiaen's orchestral suite "L'Ascension" was composed in the chateau, and a photograph exist showing Claire playing the violin in front of the chateau while Olivier sits on a folding chair and reads. I suspect the photo of the young boy, whose features strongly resemble Olivier's, is of their son Pascal. Notice that there are several tape recorders to be seen, and many reels of recording tape. These machines were still expensive at that time, and it was unusual to own more than one. This is because of Messiaen's fascination with bird songs. He collected recordings of bird songs everywhere he travelled, and the tapes you see in this video were probably some of these.

The Wikipedia entry on Oliver Messiaen has a photo of him and Claire Delbos next to the castle. She is playing the violin, perhaps the same one in the video. Love this and all the Bros of Decay videos.

You guys were speaking about the rounded cabinets that fit in the corners. The reason you see this so much is because people believed that the devil could hide in the corners so they didn’t like rooms with 45 degree angles. If the room had to be built with corners, they would put things in the corners so evil couldn’t hide there.

The Photo with an elderly woman that you thought was a Nun is a widow. That is a dress that was worn minimum for one year, but many elderly women used to wear the dress for the rest of their lifes. The dressing was traditionally for her religion, time and country.

I love your videos. You have so much passion and are genuinely interested in all the homes you visit. I do watch with sadness when I see everything just left even photos lying around. Why don't the families cherish those belongings. Loved this castle.

Danny I love your input! You are an important part of these videos. I’ve noticed you help Leslie a lot deciphering things. Well done sir!

I like watching Leslie and Danny exploring abandoned places together they're so funny, Thanks guys loved the video my second time watching it ❤

Hello, thank-you, I love your videos. Claire (L-J D) is died at the end of the 1950 at 52 years in a psychiatric hospital. Claire's violin on the chair. Y.L the second wife of Olivier, is died 2010 at 86 years. Olivier is died in the early 1990. Their only son P-E is died at 83 years.

This is by far is one of the better conditioned castles you have filmed. I really hope someone saves this from ruin. Its very well constructed.

It’s a particularly lovely castle. I love the shape, the towers, the stonework, the massive fireplace. Incredible treasures everywhere. You know, people will spend multi millions for a new built house in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If l had that kind of money, I’d buy an ancient home or castle. One of the big problems is that you have to pay for repairs and taxes. What a dream to fix up and live in a medieval castle such as this beauty! Thank you gentleman.

This is an amazing video! I hope one day this beautiful little castle will have a new owner that loves this place just as much as the previous owners did.

Hey hey, dear Lesley, that is a really fascinating looking castle. I am already very excited to see and hear more about that abandoned location. Peace, kindest blessings and see ya in your lifestream this evening.

A great exploration, guys! Finally, another wonderful interesting castle with mysteries to unveil! I love the antiques, they should all be in a museum! The family pictures, the elegance of the interior and of the old items are always the soul of the castles! Thank you for taking me on this nice journey into the past!

I'm a rock collector and seeing those rocks, it's sad as no one claimed them. :( If those walls could talk. The castle is so beautiful.

Wow what it must have been like back then with fires in the fireplaces and the smell of stew cooking in the pot over the fire! The castle being filled after dinner with the sound of music and children dancing around the room before bed! The evening begins to quiet and the adults sip a glass of wine as they dance to the softness of the music filling the castle 🏰

Everytime I watch a episode, I like to imagine what it looked like in its prime etc... great job!❤

I love seeing these beautiful castles, even in decay they continue to be beautiful…The way they narrate what they see is very complete and fun, greetings Lesley and Danny😊

I was surprised at how small this castle is. I imagine it was elaborately designed with beautiful furniture and the fireplaces open with grand fires roaring. Thank you for this explore!!