Travel Guide Chantelle

The history of Chantelle, rich in events, twists and surprises, begins with the ancient town of Cantilia, already mentioned in the "Peutinger Table", a 3rd-century land map drawn on parchment. It's said that Caesar camped here with the 11th and 12th legions, and that the wealthy bourgeois of the Middle Ages loved Chantelle because the post house enabled them to eat oysters all year round. But the town's history didn't really begin until the 11th century, when the Sires de Bourbon built a formidable fortress overlooking the Bouble River on the remains of the ancient oppidum. During the Renaissance, in the 15th century, part of the castle was transformed into a less warlike dwelling. Anne de France and her husband Pierre de Beaujeu, Duke of Bourbon, were the architects of this embellishment. After Anne de Beaujeu's death at Chantelle in 1522, her son-in-law, the fiery Constable de Bourbon, was condemned to exile by the King of France. The latter coveted the immense inheritance bequeathed to him by his wife. Banished from the kingdom, the prince fled Chantelle, taking with him a heavy treasure that he would soon have to bury to lighten his mount. François I had the castle demolished, of which only a few towers and ramparts remain today. A beautiful abbey with one of the finest sets of capitals in the Bourbonnais region, restored and occupied by Benedictine nuns since 1853, can be visited through the tourist office.