Château de Blancafort, located in the Cher region of Berry, was built after 1475 and completed in the early 16th century for François de Boucard and Marguerite de Cugnac.
HistoryThe first mention of a lord of Blancafort dates back to 1064. Over the centuries, the estate passed through several noble families, notably the Boucard family, who built the current castle. It later came under the ownership of the Faucon, Angennes, and Duranti families.
During World War II, the castle was occupied by German forces, leading to the loss of many historical documents. It was classified as a historical monument in 1926. In 1963, the Baroness de Cramer restored the castle, adding a French garden. In 2017, it was put up for auction but remained unsold.
ArchitectureBuilt in brick, the castle originally featured black brick diamond patterns, dry moats, and a now-lost drawbridge. It was later modified in the 17th and 19th centuries, with additions such as a gallery and large windows in the Louis XIII style.
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.