“It’s a tragedy”: one of the largest castles in Sologne devastated by a violent fire

Flames have been ravaging the Château de Rère in Theillay, in Loir-et-Cher, since 4:45 a.m. this Thursday, October 15. After the roof and floors, the walls and chimneys in turn threaten to collapse.

One of the jewels of Sologne's heritage has just gone up in smoke. Since this Thursday, October 15 in the morning, firefighters from the SDIS of Loir-et-Cher have been fighting against the flames which are devastating the Château de Rère in Theillay, a few kilometers north of Vierzon (Cher). Firefighters were called at 4:45 a.m., initially for a forest fire. When they arrived there, they discovered a castle whose first floor was already completely engulfed in flames.

Under the effect of the heat and eaten away by the flames, the roof of this castle which belonged to the Orléans family, collapsed. Just like the floors of the second and first floor.

All that remains are the walls and the imposing chimneys which in turn threaten to collapse. This is the reason why the firefighters have not yet entered the ruins of the castle and are trying to extinguish the fire using two large ladders. It is currently unknown whether the fire caused any casualties.

“It’s a tragedy. It’s an immense heritage that is disappearing. I have tears in my eyes” Gérard Chopin, mayor of Theillay

Present on site, the mayor of Theillay, Gérard Chopin, did not hide his emotion at the scale of the disaster. Property of the Orléans family for 22 generations, the castle was then bought by a private owner. The latter had acquired it solely for his vast forest estate of 450 hectares.

The Château de Rère had been on sale for almost five years, with a price listed at 1 million 350,000 euros. Uninhabited by its owner, the 600 m² residence was regularly squatted.