Chateau Volte Face, France

Chateau Volte Face is an abandoned fortified house in France. Unfortunately, time restrictions meant that I was only able to photograph the staircase of this grand chateau. I visited this location in 2017, during The Kolossal Tour across France/Belgium/Luxembourg.

Chateau Volte Face – scarce in history, rich with beautiful staircase

The first mention of the chateau in the records is from the mid-1300s. It is unknown what kind of building this was, perhaps a small fort or similar.

However, the present structure on the site is 16th Century (Renaissance Period). Ownership of the chateau changed hands many times over the decades, moving between families. The details are possibly not too interesting, unless you enjoy long lists of names and dates.

Most recently, the last inhabitant appears to have been an elderly lady. One wing of the chateau was sealed off during our visit; it is in this wing that the old lady lived. This wing was beautiful, and filled with beautiful furniture and personal belongings. But, this was not in our destiny for this trip. Sometimes with exploring abandoned places, your timing is everything and sometimes you can’t see everything.

The other wing of the chateau lays in stark contrast, decaying and ruined. The floors are collapsing and plaster crumbling.

In between these two wings, lies the beautiful spiral staircase. This was the only part of the chateau I was able to photograph on this trip. The shape of the staircase is a joy to photograph, flowing and elegant. To add extra interest, there is a stuffed boars head hung on the wall on the landing. For me, the simplicity of this location is the beautiful part. The subdued neutral colours of the stairs contrast well with the black ironwork of the balustrades and railings. There are enough little features to justify shooting the stairs from different angles, each one adding a little feature of interest to the scene.