Discover Sanssat

Sanssat brings together architectural history, archaeological evidence and a musical performed every year at the beginning of summer. This offers different points of interest for planning your trip: a church tells the story of a 19th-century building, several estates reflect different architectural histories, and cave finds point to earlier periods. The musical provides a specific seasonal connection.

Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Juliette Church

Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Juliette Church was built in 1893 to replace an earlier Romanesque church. Ernest Noailly, the mayor at the time, ordered the new building and financed it personally. The church is Neo-Gothic and built from Nivernais stone. Large windows with stained glass define its architecture. The markedly projecting transept—the part of the church that runs across the nave—has rose windows at both ends.

Château histories and architectural styles

The Château de Theillat was built by the Noailly family near the site of an earlier château at the end of the 19th century. That earlier building had been destroyed by fire before the Revolution, in the 18th century. Like the church, the château is built from Nivernais stone; here, the stone is blond and the roof is slate. A spacious, tree-filled park with a pond surrounds the château; the estate also includes an orangery and large stables.

The Château de Saint-Alyre developed from a manor house built on the motte of Jarry Castle, which dates from the 15th century. After the estate was acquired in 1856, the château was extended with a new adjoining building and towers. At Theillat, the destroyed predecessor and later new building shape its history; at Saint-Alyre, the focus is on the development from manor house to extended château estate.

The Vieux Ponçu preserves traces of earlier periods, when its walls served a defensive purpose. The Manoir des Granges is thought to date from the 15th century; essentially, only the monumental staircase survives from the original building.

Caves and archaeological traces

Flint, worked bones, pottery fragments and traces of hearths from several successive layers have been found in caves on the northern side of the Rédan Valley. The Cave of Lachenaud was discovered in 1921 and has a circular gallery about 15 metres long in the limestone. Cave 1 at Le Richaud lies in the commune of Sanssat, beneath a ten-metre-high limestone massif, on a slope between the Theillat-Darpin plateau and the Rédan stream. The perspective thus ranges from human remains in several layers to the shape of the limestone and the slope between the plateau and the stream.

Musical at the beginning of summer

The Association Sanssatoise de Comédie Musicale stages its musical every year at the beginning of summer on the village square in Sanssat. The musical is performed live on a 450-square-metre stage. The Association produces a new musical every two years. If seeing the performance is important to your trip, check the specific dates.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Bessay-Sur-Allier, Laprugne, Saint-Plaisir, Mesples, Charroux, Huriel, Saint-Désiré, Néris-Les-Bains.

For the overview of the wider area: Allier.