Coulandon: Manor Houses, Church and Walking Route

Coulandon brings together a historic church, several manor houses, archaeological traces and links to traditional crafts. This offers a range of interests for planning your trip: church architecture and heritage protection, architecture from different centuries, and a marked circular walk. The town’s history stretches from an Iron Age settlement to pottery-making, a craft practiced here until the 19th century.

Church and manor-house architecture

The Église Saint Martin was built from sandstone from Coulandon. Construction probably began at the end of the last Romanesque period in Bourbonnais, in the 11th century. The church has been protected as a historic monument since September 4, 1913. This places a tentative date for the start of construction alongside a precise, later date of protection.

The Château de Certilly, also known as Chartilly, is a stone manor house dating from the 15th century. The dormer window has a triangular pediment, and the front door bears a coat of arms dated 1582. Two projecting turrets complete the building, one round and one square.

Le Châtelet is also a stone manor house dating from the 15th century, located on the road to Montilly. Its features include an internal corner tower and an angled staircase to the north. To the south, a 17th-century façade faces the garden.

East of Coulandon, on the road to Montégut, lies the Château de La Chassagne. The manor house dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. Its rectangular main building is complemented by two set-back pavilions with round towers; traces of dry moats are still visible.

The Château de La Presle is surrounded by a large park and built of stone and two-coloured bricks. The fief already existed in the 15th century. The dates therefore range from Certilly and Le Châtelet in the 15th century to the construction phases at La Chassagne in the 16th and 17th centuries; Certilly’s coat of arms, dated 1582, provides a more precise marker.

Archaeology and local history

An Iron Age settlement was discovered in 1886 north of Coulandon, between La Calvardière and the municipal boundary with Marigny. The traces include pits dug into the ground and covered with branches. These pits are known as “mardelles.”

There are nine mission crosses in the territory of Coulandon, often standing at crossroads. Some were still used quite recently during Rogation processions. Rogation Days are a three-day liturgical observance held before Ascension Day.

The sandstone quarries are also part of the town’s building history: stone extracted there was used to build the Régemortes Bridge and Moulins Cathedral. Another local landmark is Coulandon’s former railway station building, which still stands at 9, route de St-Menoux.

Walks and crafts

PR 9 – Circuit de Coulandon is a marked, moderately difficult circular walk covering 11.8 kilometres. The route is listed as taking three hours. Check the route details before setting out, as they may change.

The walking route “La balade des potiers” passes through the hamlet of La Poterie. The hamlet reflects the important pottery-making tradition practiced in Coulandon until the 19th century. While PR 9 is described in terms of distance, duration and difficulty, this route focuses on the area’s historic links to pottery.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Rémy-En-Rollat, Villebret, Saint-Nicolas-Des-Biefs, Avermes, Neuilly-le-Réal, Serbannes, Braize, Chazemais

For the regional travel overview: Allier.