Celestins Castle

Château-Monastère des Célestins, founded by Cardinal Bertrand who served as headquarters and refuge for Catholics, the Célestins convent was destroyed by the Huguenots in 1560, then rebuilt in 1655.

The castle-monastery of Colombier-le-Cardinal already existed in the 12th and 13th centuries as an important point of defense and refuge. It was in the possession of the Malatour-Colombier d'Annonay family. One of their number, Pierre de Colombier, Cardinal, Bishop of Ostia, then Legate of the Pope (it was in this capacity that he crowned Emperor Charles IV in 1355) was at the origin of the establishment of Celestins at the castle. According to his testamentary wishes, a community of Celestine monks was established at the castle on his death in 1361. The arms of the Celestines of Colombier, like those of all the Celestines of France, bore a gold cross with a silver S in the field Azure, accompanied by two fleur-de-lys of the same.
At the time of the Wars of Religion, in the 1560s, the Huguenots destroyed the monastery of Colombier, then a real headquarters and refuge for Catholics. After the edict of pacification of Nantes in 1585, the monastery was rebuilt almost entirely in 1655. Then, the order of the Celestines no longer conforming to the rules of Saint-Benoît, their founder, was suppressed in 1773. The castle-convent des Célestins in Colombier-le-Cardinal was then closed in 1778.
In 1790 the buildings of the Château des Célestins were sold as National Assets to the Monneron brothers. Then, in 1859, the castle and the adjoining land were sold to the Barou family of La Lombardière de Canson. In 1961 the Canson family sold the castle and adjoining land to the Saint-Gobain company and in 1982 the Saint-Gobain company sold the castle and the land to the Ardèche joint equipment syndicate, which were leased to the Departmental Federation of Rural Family Associations.
The building was partially classified as a historical monument in 1963.
To date, the castle is private property and cannot be visited.