Chateau d'Arginy & Secret of the Knights Templar

A friend of mine just told me about a very cool chateau in Charentay, not too far from Lyon. I visited it and have become rather obsessed about it. 

Gorgeous, n'est-ce pas?

You can click here to read more about it in English and see some amazing photos. (I google translated the website for you, so the text is a little funky.)

The castle sits upon an ancient salt mine from the time of the Gauls. A Roman lieutenant named Arginusae built a small town upon the site, hence the castle's name, Arginy.

In the 11th century, a castle with three towers and a donjon, or house, was built upon the site. The castle has been lived in by noble families, non-stop (With perhaps an exception during the French Revolution), since its creation. Much of the castle we see today was constructed in 1533.

It is said that the castle contains a treasure of the Knights Templar. This would most likely be secret writings. Documents, which if reveled today, would knock the Catholic church on its behind. Kind of like the Da Vinci Code ....

People have been hunting for this treasure since the 15th century. (The treasure would have been from  the 13th century when Pope Innocent III launched a campaign to exterminate all Cathars and Templar Knights in 1208--such an innocent guy. The treasure was apparently later transported to a "place of safety", le Chateau d'Arginy?)

Each time people dig for the treasure, there is a mortal accident, someones head gets crushed. In 1883, a man's foot was crushed as he descended into a vertical gallery. In 1914, Count Pierre de Rosemont, the owner, was given a "spiritual order" to stop looking for the treasure. People believe that he may have found the sarcophagus of the Knight Templar who was buried in an underground chamber and who is responsible for writing mystical symbols on the wall of the burial chamber. (Click here for photos of the symbols)

In 1953, a team of occultists from the l'ordre souverain du Temple solaire, or Sovereign Order of the Solar Temple were called in by the owner, Jacques de Rosement. They declared that there are 11 ghosts of the Knights Templar guarding a treasure.

 Several books have been written on the chateau d'Arginy, most notably Time out of Time by Gabrielle Carmi.

The current owners are not keen on people visiting. Please respect their wish for privacy if you decide to visit the area.

Voila! Gros bisous des château hanté et a demain.

Love, Charley