The Château Perrier, a historic monument and former home of champagne merchants, provides an exceptional architectural and landscape setting for the 2,000 objects on display and can also be discovered during the visit.
Built between 1852 and 1857 by the Sparnacan architect Pierre-Eugène Cordier, Château Perrier is the first example of the Eclectic architectural style in this region.
The four facades are inspired by French Renaissance architecture and the Louis XIII style, similar to buildings in Paris such as the Palais du Luxembourg, the Palais des Tuileries or the Lescot wing of the Louvre. The sculpted decorations are brought to life by the interplay of the colours of the materials: brick, stone, slate and glass.
The collections present the wealth of cultural heritage in the region over four subjects: the formation of the countryside and the chalky Champagne subsoil, archaeological traces left behind by humans in Champagne, creation and history of wine in Champagne and patrons and explorers of the 19th century and the Belle Époque.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.