Inside an Abandoned Chateau in France Hiding 600 Years of History

Somewhere, behind this massive overgrowth, lies an abandoned castle, apparently. And we're currently in search of it. Follow us as we're going to navigate through all this wilderness, which has remained pretty untamed. You can tell it's all very densely overgrown, which really makes it difficult to reach this place. So, it better be worth it. Look at that over there. Starting to see two buildings. Could have been the sheds of this place one day, who knows. A massive overgrown domain stretches out in front of me, and although the castle is nowhere in sight this far, something else soon catches my eye. No way! Believe it or not, look at this! There is still a car underneath all this overgrowth. Look at it! It's crazy, absolutely crazy. There is another one right next to it. You can barely not even see it anymore. That is absolutely crazy. But what's even crazier is the place these cars are hiding in the shadow of. An abandoned castle that lies forgotten, crumbling, and has steeped in centuries of history. Built on foundations tracing back to the 14th century, this estate was once home to noblemen and sea captains, and has seen generations come and go. Now left in silence, the castle we're about to uncover still holds fading portraits, mold-covered antiques, and even a grand piano standing in the dark. And with all that history, you might wonder, who was the last to live here? And why was this entire estate left behind? Now, this castle was once, actually, the home of Mr. Jean Luchin. And he was a car collector. He also loved doing mechanic jobs on cars. And he passed away somewhere in the early 2000s. And ever since, it really seems that the inheritance of the castle that we're going to find in a bit had no funding to revive, restore, and keep the castle alive. We continue through the garden, and more shapes start emerging from the green. And believe it or not, there are more. There is one there. A silver one. A silver car. It's really hard to tell what brand, what model it is. A white one right here. We have a red car here, and finally, another car here. And this is actually a Ford Fiesta. Or, yeah, it was a Ford Fiesta. I mean... Oh! There's another one. Crazy, man! Absolutely crazy! Look at this blue car. Because of this bright color, I mean, you can still see the car, but these cars are pretty much obscured by nature, which is absolutely fascinating and crazy at the same time. Now, this was probably a shed one day of the castle. And somehow, even the shed holds more cars than in a way. Completely surrendered to nature. Let's continue our way so we can hopefully find a way to reach the castle better. Oof, this is very overgrown, but I guess we'll have to take this route. Let's see if we can get any closer and find the castle we were looking for. I can't believe how overgrown it is. I think we definitely still have a little bit to go until we're at the castle, but let's hope it's worth it because I know you and myself really like exploring a beautiful castle in France. The weather is also great. Nice sunshine. Even though it's a little bit cold, you can see the frost over here on the torn roots. Gotta be careful not to roast my ankle or something. Looks like we almost made it to the end of conquering these thorn bushes. I hope we almost made it to the castle, but, oh yeah, look at it! There's the roof already. And if you thought we'd already seen all the cars, there's even more. Another one standing there, left to the fate of nature. You really wonder for how long these cars have been standing here. Beautiful to see the side of the chateau already. There's so much pollution. Actually, it really surprises me because I believe the castle definitely still has some untouched rooms. Oh, beautiful sunshine in the air in the French countryside. And it's castle time again. Look at it! What a dignified building! I cannot believe that we're going to explore that in a bit. But, firstly, we have two other overgrown cars. A Volkswagen, and what's this one? Ah, it's a Renault. Just look at how the ivy is taken over on this car. Oh! It's unreal seeing these overgrown cars. Now, lastly, I want to show you a peek of the front, but we've been told that we need to enter from the back side. But we need to be careful because, apparently, neighbors are quite nosy here. Another part of the back of a car, and then, right here it is. The front side. This is the chateau that we're going to explore. Now, before somebody sees us, let's head to the back side. Now we've explored a huge part of its garden. Overgrown cars, rusty vehicles... You've seen the chateaus outside at the front and the side. Currently, we're walking to the back, and then, it's finally time to enter it. But, actually, before heading to the back side, I believe, yeah, there's another car here under the tree. A Renault 5G TL. Look at that! This is a classic. Crazy! Another car that hasn't moved in ages. Now, let's really make it to the back side. Very slippery here because of the raining soil, but this does definitely seem a less conspicuous angle to enter the castle. But what has happened here?! Man, what is this?! That's crazy! This is really like a junkyard. It's full of items that seem to have been thrown out of the place. All littering the back side right now. And look at that! That almost seems from Rapunzel with all the clothes, like Rapunzel did with her long hair, from the window. Why have they done that? Anyway, let's climb over now to finally make it in. Crazy! The window is right open. Let's now enter the chateau. As I open this window, I'm going to reveal an incredible room to you. And check this out! Wow! Oh, wow! The decay is incredible. Look on top of me. This room is unbelievable. It's truly like I'm in a museum of negligence. All the faded antiques and artwork, all these priceless historical pieces, all the faded opulence is all just going to waste here. And yet, there was a time when this estate stood as a symbol of power. Its story begins as far back as 1381, when a man named Mr. Goumar was first recorded as the lord of this fiefdom. In the early 1700s, it became the property of Pierre, a famed Canadian explorer and naval commander. He was a man remembered across oceans, but power doesn't last forever. When the French Revolution struck, everything changed. The estate was seized and part of it sold off as national property. Since then, it's passed through many hands, each leaving a mark and then slowly disappearing into history. What a sight! With this table, the marble plates, all the red seats, and of course, the grand piano that I'm going to be showing in more detail in a little bit. But firstly, here in the corner, we have this incredible cupboard. And I mean, this is such a rich piece. I'm carefully going to open it since you've got to see the inside. The inside is all red velvet. There are still a few pieces on these glass shelves. It's really unreal to see such priceless antiques in such an advanced state of decay. We have a few frames over here on the ground. Over here on this pedestal is still a tiny statue. You can also literally see the cobwebs all over the ceiling. And then, look at these chairs. Like, how they are made, how they are embroidered. Very chic and elegant with the stuffings on the sides. The marble topping plate of the table has actually a major crack in the middle. I actually want to highlight this over here. It is a scale, and I think that it was actually for infants. Like an infantile scale. But there used to be another bowl with the baby, and then they could actually weigh the weight of the baby. Yikes! The molten calcification looks repulsive. A wooden case over here. Once used to be... oh, not for a clock. Actually, just a little cabinet. Also, a beautiful French watch. My gosh, this place is truly a museum. All of everything has not been taken care of. And it's just left in a state of neglect. And then, on the sides, we can already tell that it is covered in mold. This beautiful wooden grand piano has truly seen some better days. Such a wonderful piece. And it is actually an Iraq French piano from Paris. Also, look at the bottom. They always have this beautiful harp structure. Still, the original piano seat with some neat wooden carvings is standing in front of it. A massive frame also over here with a painting. And as I turn around, I'll give you one other perspective of this once grand room. Now, let's continue to a rather dark room where we do not have as much ambient light. But hopefully, with the camera light, it does the justice to show you its beauty. And I think that this was once the dining room with a massive table. Marble plate as well. And all the chairs are still poised around the table where once fancy dinners were had by the castle lord and by the people he invited. And probably also the workers and servants of the castle estate every now and then. Actually, a little tank probably used to be for tea, soup, coffee. There are even paws on the side. Some very old volumes. I guess they were just story reading books. And you can see on the cover the French fluently. Looks like a story. Oh my gosh! Look at the glass shelves over here. Completely dusty. Even a game right here. I think it was actually for bingo. I'm not going to wipe the dust away, but it might be a little bit hard to see. It's crazy to imagine the dinners, the breakfast, the lunch, the meals that were once here on this table that were had by the family. And you can tell that this is the dining area because right here, even though it is a massive clutter and I cannot even enter the room anymore, but you can tell that this once was the kitchen area. By the tilework, you can still partially see the furnace right there. What a junkyard is this room! But don't let this mess fool you since we're only scratching the surface. Stay with me because deeper inside this forgotten chateau, some truly breathtaking rooms are still waiting to be uncovered. Over here on the table, we also still have some bullets. And you can also see all these playing cards. We have a lot of moldy encyclopedia volumes over here in this former bookshelf. Completely mold-ridden as well. I doubt if I can still open this. Oh, I can! We even still have some old tapes over there. Music, maybe even some memories are still on there. And just looking at the details, it's mesmerizing. This was most likely for bottles of wine. And right here was actually a table. This is a very special table because I've seen them before. You can actually fold this out and you would have a table where you can gather around with some players and play a game of cards or any other game. Wow! Look at this oriental cabinet! This is also a precious piece. Still, some encyclopedias in here as well. And also dictionaries. Another valuable piece of furniture just left to rot. Now, in these chateaus, you often find this oriental furniture. And that was, most of the times, for the noble-class families. It was a sign of wealth to own oriental pieces of furniture. And talking about art, it seems that every now and then, they also liked to make their own art. But now, back to that enchanting space where we started the exploration of the interior of this castle. From here, we're gonna head to the main hallway. I cannot believe how moley everything is. That's also the reason why I covered up my mouth and nose against all the herbs. So, these were once the two main doors of the castle. At least, the front entrance. Look at this frozen-in-time hallway over here with, once more, another piano. Not a grand piano, but an upright piano. And also, from Iraq, a piano maker from Paris known for their incredible high-end pianos. Because this one, even though it's moldy and maybe not perfectly tuned anymore, does still work. The candle holders. Even still, sheet music on top. Look at this wonderful set. Another horloge with dogs on top of it. And even the trophies that were a part of the set. But also, on the sides, they really paid attention to the details. Some really wonderful carvework over there. And if I turn, you can still see that there are these very old shoes on the ground. And also, this little seat where you could probably rest with your feet on when you were sitting somewhere. The coatrack is absolutely amazing too. It has a lot of detailed carvings. And even still, hats hanging on there. And as I told you, it was Mr. Jean Luchien who owned this castle. And it's still written on the mirror. Why he carved his own name into the mirror, we'll never know. Maybe it was pride, or maybe it was a final way of saying, I was here. Jean Luchien passed away in 1985, and judging by the state of the rooms, it's likely no one truly lived here since. And yet, as we'll see later, someone once had the ambition to bring this place back to life. This is another room where I can really not enter anymore, given that it's also full of clutter. Unreal. And lastly, in the hallway, we have these two weathered, very vintage tennis rackets. Not sure what's here. Maybe even a basement. No, just some storage underneath the roof. But look at this. Actually, some barrel on a weight. Now, the wood is rotten. The carpet is slowly getting digested by mother nature. But we are going to head to the next floor of this castle and be amazed at the rooms we'll find there. Hmm, that looks quite particular. I really love the wooden banisters. It's crazy to see all the cobwebs on top of here. And even on the walls everywhere, it really seems that insects became the new occupants of this once grand castle owned by the rich and the noble. So, as you can tell, this will definitely not be the last floor we have another one to follow. Now, actually, right there is, I think, by far the best room on this floor. I'm firstly going to be taking you down this corridor. Not every room over here is extremely interesting, but I just want to show you this castle as a whole. This is just a tiny toilet space. Nothing really special. The only thing that's cool to see is that you can clearly tell how the roots and nature are creeping in. Still, a suitcase over here. Now, there were clearly also children growing up here. We're already seeing the first toys. In a bit, we're going to see the former bedroom of a child. Right here I need to be careful, but this was actually a bathroom. You can clearly see all the collapsed debris over here littering the bedroom. Even there are some Disney figures. But the decay is absolutely crazy. Now, on the other side, there is a room that's a little bit strange because you can tell it's way more modern looking. As if they renovated it or started renovating. And you can also tell that there is somebody that's trying to keep the structure upright. Digging into public records, I found that a poultry farmer was still registered at this very address until just a few years ago. It might be one of Jean Luché's children. Someone who returned with the dream of restoring this ancient chateau. But dreams like that don't come cheap. And as the renovation costs climbed, the funding dried up as they also... We're trying to build a bunk bed over here. Really looks like it could've been another bedroom of a child. But this is way more modern looking. Oh, wow! There are even still hard drives over here. Crazy! But anyway, I just told you these people once had children. And that becomes more evident in this room. Again, there is not a lot left apart from this absolutely incredible wardrobe over here. What a piece, right?! But anyway, you can clearly see that this was the bedroom of a child once. And even a snowman in a Christmas tree from the festive season is on the window. It's funny because when I was a kid, I also used to stick all those stickers on my wall. It seems that the children lived in these rooms. Probably also the renovated one. And right here is another kitchen. The floor is in a pretty bad condition, so I gotta remain vigilant. But there are some pans hanging up there. And even bottles of liquor and wine. Crazy! Would the fridge still be stocked? I don't know. I actually am afraid it will be stocked. Oh no! Thank gosh! This is mostly all emptied out. The only thing that we can do is... let's see... This says 2009. What is the date of expiration of this? I don't know. So, at least, these berries were probably put in this jar in 2009. That tells us for now that 2009 could be the last date. But if you look at the state of this property, it has also been abandoned for at least a decade. If not longer. If you were wondering what this is, it's actually a scythe. Probably from a farmer, but they actually protected it with some cardboard and tape. Now, the best room so far on this floor is certainly this one. I assume there once used to be a lot of books inside these wooden shelves. But they have all been taken out. Almost every room has severe leakage problems. You can tell by the growth of mold. Some rather modern furniture over here. Oh, these windows are extremely dirty. But probably the best item is definitely this grandfather clock. Probably from a local clockmaker. Even the other part of the clock is still inside. And look at the peacock! That is beautiful! You can also see some paintwork on the wooden design of the grandfather clock. And a wonderful marble fireplace. And as you can tell, also right here are some signs of renovation. But they have written on here. With a pencil, I see Christmas trees again and a snowman. Happy new year 1987! Happy new year 1989! Would that really be where it stopped with the renovation? It seems they did have the ambitions, but simply discontinued. Could have been another room of a child, I don't know. Could have definitely been another bedroom one day. There's another massive wardrobe. A lot of presence of black mold. This is a massive wardrobe, and there's nothing inside anymore. Now, we've seen a lot of rooms on this floor, but there's one that I love in particular. And I already mentioned it, and I cannot wait to show it to you. So, let's just head there right now. And we come back at this beautiful wooden staircase. Trust me, you're not going to believe what's waiting for us right there. A truly stunning room. Gotta watch my head, though, to not get covered in all these cobwebs. I also really like the rock over here. And then, the sunlight is already beautifully falling through. Look at this magical bedroom with a very beautiful historic bed. Still, this bust over here, right on the nightstand. Absolutely unbelievable. Wow, oh wow! With the sun bathing through the hall of dilapidated curtains, it seems that this bedroom really comes back to life again. We even have a drawing of one of the children dating 1925. This room is really a gem. You can still see some pillows and bed linen in here. But probably, the most amazing feature is the bed. And look at the design of it. Wow! The paintwork in the middle. Maybe the painting alone is already very valuable. And then, also all the carved work. This is really a bed, I would say, of museum value. An amazing thing is, if you're going to look at it, the bed, the nightstand, the wardrobe, and even the mirror. They are all a set. Even the tiny table over there. Even the vanity. My gosh, this furniture is simply stunning. I cannot believe that it's all left to rot here. As you can tell, it all matches. It was probably all handmade for this noble family that once resided here. A massive tiled mirror over here. Look at this. This was actually for Mr. Jean Luchet. A very old letter. And please note how probably Luchet's father is referred to as lord here. Hinting at a prominent role possibly related to wartime service in the 1800s. This envelope, once holding legal documents, was sent all the way from the palace of justice in Paris in the year 1851. An agenda from 1951. That was also from him. Wow! There is also this letter from 1953. Finding this letter was the moment everything began to fall into place. Let's have a closer look. Dated September 14th, 1953, and sent from the very heart of Paris, it shows Luchet addressing the damage done to his property by a delivery truck from a certain factory. He signs with dignity. Luchet. But what factory is he speaking of? To understand, we have to peel back the layers of time. Between the 16th and 1700s, this site reportedly housed a women's convent. Then, in the 17th century, noble figures like Renault, royal notary Gilles Holmont, and Louis de Soissons, advisor to the king of France in that time, were all connected to this very place. In the 1800s, the château welcomed a new resident. Francis Magnière, editor-in-chief of Le Figaro, France's oldest and, to this day, most widely read national newspaper. But in the early 1900s, the land's purpose changed once again. The town's natural springs gave rise to a thriving bottled water business, and a factory was built, supplying nearly the entire region. But tragedy struck in 1922 when the engineer in charge collided with a train, and the factory was shuttered. It was then sold to a tomato cannery. But later, to the very company we could see atop this ladder, the Dairy Cooperative of Gathered Farmers. It's clear now. Luchin wasn't just a landowner, but a key figure in the region's dairy industry. And decades later, one of his sons, a poultry farmer, would still be listed as active at this very address. Although it's likely that poultry farming alone was never enough to save the château. And so, the vision cracked, and the dust quietly claimed its ground. Now, we rummaged through all these documents, as I already mentioned, and it does seem that Mr. Luchin was really the castle lord, and eventually, at the moment that this property was inherited to the next of kin, there was either a problem with the inheritance taxes that were just prohibited for the next of kin, or maybe simply not enough funds for maintenance of this massive property. A problem you often see in France, and sadly enough, and inevitably, this property is simply going down right now. But it's in a terrible state of neglect. I mean, there are even black mushrooms dangling down. Simply grown out of the ceiling because of a severe leakage problem. Even roots are growing, merging through the shutters. But then, believe it or not, toothpaste is still there. Shower gel, and even their perfumes and aftershave are still in the shelves. Absolutely crazy. And then, we've seen everything on this floor, and there's only one floor that rests and awaits us to investigate. So, let's head to the final level. I think in a few years, the stairs are going to collapse and it's not even going to be possible to see the rooms that we're going to see right now. Calendar from the year 2000. All the paperwork on the steps. And look on top of us. They are really trying their best efforts to keep the structure upright by just very primitive solutions. And also cheap solutions, since there are simply no funds, it seems. It definitely seems that they like painting. So, right here, they actually put these planks here for a good reason. The floor is in a very poor condition. There has been extensive rain and leakage damage here. You can also see it in the buckets, full of rainwater. So, we've got to mind each and every step we take. But there is another kitchen right here. And even though I do not think it's a smart idea to enter it, I'm just trying to show it to you from a distance. Look at the color of the wall. And that's clearly leakage damage from the ceiling because of a damaged roof. But then, this room is another masterpiece of time. Wow, oh wow! Look at this! That's even styrofoam above us. What?! It looks like they replaced it with styrofoam. Simply to prevent more rainwater from coming through because the ceiling was already collapsed. That's really a cheap solution. But I guess it will do for now. We still have this stove over here. Made in a local village. All the pans are still complete, from tiny to big, paired next to each other. And I'm wondering what this room was actually serving for. What they used to do here. Like, read books. Maybe another private area for the children. I really don't know. There are all these tiny ornaments. But that's maybe not even the most fascinating thing. We do have a lot of old negatives over here. See a woman over here. Oh, this is cool! We've already seen all the cars outside and over here he was working on one of the cars. He really loved cars. That's evident as we've already seen the children right here. In the middle over here, we also still have this massive book. And I believe it's all written in Latin. Wow, it's amazing. Just look how all the items are still left pristine on those shelves. You can just see the cobwebs between it. It hasn't been moved in years. I love this room given that it's so well-preserved. Even this tiny barrel over here. There probably used to be some wine inside and they could use the step to get it out. Another safari hat maybe used on a hunt. Judging by the dust marks, you can tell that there used to be cutlery on top of that mirror. And this is also still a little bathtub for a child, like a very tiny baby. The floor is in a bad shape and it's probably from the leakage that was here pre-existent before they placed the styrofoam there. So, we've already seen one incredible room now on the top floor of this castle, but stick around because there's going to be even more. I think that a lot of children used to grow up in these walls since you can also tell that all these tools of other children are stored there. And it definitely seems that they were spoiled. But you really wonder where they are now. Oh, what is this? The evil year? Beware? Okay, let's have a look in here. Well, it does seem that the person that had this room here really liked some metal or rock music, judging by these posters. Van Halen. Wow! Look at all these books and items still there on the shelves. It's crazy. The floors are so decayed. I really have to mind every step I take and I'm definitely not going to be standing here. Even a penguin doll over here is still in the packaging. But, yeah, I know what you're thinking. I promise some frozen-in-time rooms to you. We're definitely going to see a better room right now which seems to have been from a little girl. Look at this room with the pink-painted wallpaper. Or, no, I believe it's actually just paint. We have a baby crib over here. Wow, another major hole there, but I really like the stove. There's another one too. The cobwebs are crazy. Way more stickers again. A stick in the wall. And we have another oriental piece of furniture in the corner. Now, there are also so many clothes, bed linen, all littering the bed. And I'm still curious if it was really the bedroom of a girl given that there are all these prints about race sport. And that's usually more a hobby and interest of a boy. On the opposite side, we have another area that used to be a bathroom. It's very hard to tell right now because of all the items that have been cluttered there, but you can see the bathtub right there. And then, last but certainly not least, we have another incredible bedroom at the end of the corridor. There are so many jars filled with fruits and vegetables. That's crazy. A lot of clothes are still inside here. And then, I'm going to be taking my scarf off because this room is still so well preserved. It seems pretty much leakage-free and way more preserved and less decayed than the other rooms. They used the branches of a tree or something to make this lamp. I think that this even used to be a little flute or something. I'm pretty sure it was. No, I won't be able to whistle that. Just have a look at this. A wonderful bed. Quite a big bed too. There's still a spared ornament here. Another room filled with stuff. I even see all these model planes over here. So, this could have been a boy's bedroom. Suitcases, a lot of bed linen again in there, and right here we have some very old mementos captured in those photographs. A sailing journey, a family ancestor, and another one. It seems to have been military nobility that lived here. Also, look on top of this huge sunscreen. Another oriental piece of decoration. And I do believe that right here is a photo album. I'm not sure if there's anything in there. Nah, it's completely blank. Now, we've seen a lot of clocks. We've seen quite a lot of horloges. And over here we have the final piece from a local clockmaker in Paris. Wonderful! Truly wonderful. A grand marble fireplace with a stove in front, strangely enough. So, I think it was not functional anymore. This used to be part of a very old camera. You can tell inside it's completely moldy right now. Wonderful mirror. And I also really like the statue. It actually symbolizes a hunter with his hunting dog. And on the back, you can see he's holding his hunting rifle. Baby chair, and also a prayer chair. So, imagine there was also somebody kneeling down on this chair and actually praying. You often see them standing in front of the beds. Maybe they pray when they wake up in the morning and before going to sleep. An old French license plate. Look, this is also an oriental ornament. Maybe they even traveled to Japan, to Asia, back in their glorious days. And these are still some other mementos of these days. 1925, it says. Imagine the people in these pictures most likely lived here. And they're laying on top of a photo album, so I'm not sure. But, yeah, we do have a few more old pictures. This is the same man. That's him, and that's him. So, maybe that is actually Jean Luchin, the former castle lord. Unfortunately, that's also all the pictures that are in there. Now, finally, one last look at the bed with all the books. And then, I'm going to conclude it right here. I'll gently lean against the bed frame. Wow! It's been a while that I explored a castle in France. I really love this exploration. The decay was sad, but it's also impressive to find such rich pieces of art, of antiques, just simply fading away, left to ruin in time. I really hope you enjoyed this episode. I really want to thank Mr. Jean Luchin for an insight into his incredible car collection and his incredible property. I'm really afraid that the property will never really see life anymore, but I do hope that the inheritance does find a way to find the proper funding and restore this property back to its former glory. In the meantime, there will always be an everlasting memory through this video. And if you enjoyed the documentary, please, hit the thumbs-up button, subscribe to the channel, write down below, and also, feel free to leave a comment down below about your favorite room, about any thoughts, any feedback. It's all very welcome. If you want to support me on these travels, on these journeys to these fascinating sites, there's also a link in the description to a Patreon page, a PayPal link, and our channel memberships where we take you on exclusive discoveries, early access to videos, and many other incredible perks. And now, with that having said, I want to send you a wonderful week, and we will see you on the next adventure! Peace-out and past preserved forever! Next week on EXPLOMO, we explore the forgotten home of Dr. Alfred. A brilliant mind, a crumbling manner, and a lifetime of secrets sealed beneath layers of dust and decay.