# Château Lumiere, November 2014



## Dugie (Dec 8, 2014)

*Château Lumiere, France*
_Visited with:_ PG UE, Nick Whitworth and Scott Chadwick.
_Visit date:_ November 2014

*Please Note:* Entry is always through an open access point and not by forcing our way in….. We are explorers, not vandals.

*History*
Château Lumiere was built in the early 1900’s by a wealthy Swiss tobacco tycoon. The building was sold in the 1950’s after the death of the owner and since then the Château has been sold several times but sadly is now stood abandoned. The exact date of abandonment I do not know but I have read in a few places that it could have been in the 1980’s.

Château Lumiere has a Historical Protection order, however, the future of this beautiful building is uncertain.

*My Visit*
Château Lumiere was the main reason for this tour due to the fact that we tried to visit here back in September when we was last in France, sadly we did not make it due to time restrictions, So, it only felt right that we made Lumiere the first stop this time around.

We arrived early whilst it was still dark outside and within a couple of minutes we was inside, the first thing we realised was that we would be here for some time before any pictures would be taken…. It was pitch black inside!

Slowly and I mean slowly the light started to filter in through the huge skylight but it was still going to take some time for the ground floor to have enough daylight for photos. After about an hour of waiting some of the lads headed up to the top floor where the light situation was better whilst I decided to wait it out as I really wanted the skylight shot. I set up the camera on the carpet and waited…..

About 20 minutes and a cold backside later I took the shot, here is the result.




With the lads working their way down from the top floor I had the ground floor to myself, so I started to grab a few photos of this beautiful entrance hall.
















Before leaving the ground floor I headed off into a few of the side rooms to see what I could find. There are lots of small rooms some with a few features such as old fireplaces but not much else, the best room on this floor however has to be the the 'wood' room.




Now it was time to head up to the next level, however I did not get far before I stopped to take another photo!




After taking the above photo I was greeted by the following view….




I caught myself thinking ‘This place is stunning’ over and over again in my head. I just hope my photos are giving you the same feeling.

Here are a few more photos from this floor. I still get exited when I look at them, I just wish I could have seen how this place looked and felt when occupied.
















Here are a couple of photos from the side rooms on this level. I would have to say that the first photo would have been the master bathroom as it was by far the more elegant within the château with marble floors and walls.




Now I have no idea what this room was used for, however it did have a door directly to the bathroom on the left wall just out of shot so a good guess would have to a bedroom. Just look at the view they had from the doors in the morning when they woke up and opened them!




So with this floor covered it was time to head up to the top floor.

So, what can I say about the top floor, well, I can honestly say that it is definitely not as grand as the others as you will see but, it does hold some beauty & it does have some awesome views when looking down upon the lower floors.







Here is one of the bathrooms on this floor and as you can see it is no were near as grand as the bathroom on the lower floor.




As you can see in some of the above images the skylight is huge and I really wanted to see if I could get up into the loft space to take a closer look. Luckily it did not take long to locate the way up which was a small wooden staircase hidden behind a door. After going up the stairs I emerged into the loft space which had a few pieces of machinery lying around on the floor plus a few other bits and pieces but nothing of major interest. The Skylight is, as you would imagine splat bang in the centre of the main loft space and this is how it looked.




As you can see the glass on the floor of the skylight is covered in dust which would have not been the case when the château was occupied and would have allowed a lot more light to spill inside.

After a quick look around the loft I decided to head back down to see how everyone was getting on. After slowly working my way down making sure to not walk out in front of someone taking a photo I found the group in the main entrance hall. Everyone was happy with the images they had taken and we agreed it was time to make a move to the next location. We said farewell to Château Lumiere and made our exit.

*More images available on flickr*
The images above are just a small selection of the images I have edited. I will be adding lots more photos of Château Lumiere on my Flickr page which can be found here, https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

*Final thoughts*
After waiting months to see Lumiere after we did not manage to get here back in September I do have to say it was worth the wait. When the light finally worked it's way in through the huge skylight the grandeur of this place started to show. Marble floors and columns, beautiful staircases, carvings, stunning metal work, everywhere you look there is beauty to be seen. Château Lumiere has rocketed to the top of my list for EU locations, I absolutely loved my time here.

With all that said however, it is a shame to see Lumiere sat empty and even worse if it was to be torn down, lets hope that never happens and someone comes along and re-occupies this stunning château.

To read more location reports of the places we visited on the tour please click here, http://www.alanduggan-photography.co.uk/tag/tournov2014/

Thanks for reading,

Dugie


----------



## DJhooker (Dec 8, 2014)

that would make a swag place to live, nice pics man!


----------



## HughieD (Dec 8, 2014)

Does it get better than this? Top Urbex location and top photography. Stunning....

P.S. any reason why there are no externals? Is that to keep the site a bit under the radar so it remains in it's untrashed state?


----------



## flyboys90 (Dec 8, 2014)

It was worth waiting for the skylight shot its great and all the others are too! As you say this site is truly stunning.


----------



## ocelot397 (Dec 8, 2014)

Guessing the top floor is a bit "drab" because it would of been the servant quarters!


----------



## DirtyJigsaw (Dec 8, 2014)

Beautiful location and beautiful photography. Also. Nice to meet you over the weekend just gone! I look forward to your photos from that location


----------



## cunningplan (Dec 8, 2014)

That place is Stunning and your photos also


----------



## mookster (Dec 8, 2014)

Lumiere is by far the best of the Euro Chateaus I have seen, I too found myself wandering around it repeating 'this is stunning' in my head over and over...especially on the back of a totally fraught journey down there it made it all the more worthwhile.

It's a testament that it has managed to remain so remarkably intact considering how long it has been empty for (mid 80s at least), it's one of the continents best-kept explores despite how comparatively well-known it is. It helps that it truly is in the arse end of nowhere in a tiny village in deepest France...


----------



## decker (Dec 9, 2014)

Love the opulence and the wrought iron work .. impressive photos !


----------



## Urbexbandoned (Dec 9, 2014)

Great pics! Stunning place


----------



## Dugie (Dec 9, 2014)

ocelot397 said:


> Guessing the top floor is a bit "drab" because it would of been the servant quarters!



I agree it could well of been and most likely was for the servants.



DirtyJigsaw said:


> Beautiful location and beautiful photography. Also. Nice to meet you over the weekend just gone! I look forward to your photos from that location



Cheers DJ and yes it was great to meet you at the weekend. Sorry about not saying bye, we was in a rush to get to the morgue before the light went.



cunningplan said:


> That place is Stunning and your photos also



Cheers Tony.



mookster said:


> Lumiere is by far the best of the Euro Chateaus I have seen, I too found myself wandering around it repeating 'this is stunning' in my head over and over...especially on the back of a totally fraught journey down there it made it all the more worthwhile.
> 
> It's a testament that it has managed to remain so remarkably intact considering how long it has been empty for (mid 80s at least), it's one of the continents best-kept explores despite how comparatively well-known it is. It helps that it truly is in the arse end of nowhere in a tiny village in deepest France...



Agreed Mookster, it is out of the way and a pain in the ass to get to but well worth it. There are a few bits and pieces an hours drive away but nothing to major to keep you in the area for to long.



decker said:


> Love the opulence and the wrought iron work .. impressive photos !



Cheers Decker.

Thanks for the comments all, Dugie


----------



## Dugie (Dec 9, 2014)

DJhooker said:


> that would make a swag place to live, nice pics man!



Oh hell yes it would 



HughieD said:


> Does it get better than this? Top Urbex location and top photography. Stunning....
> 
> P.S. any reason why there are no externals? Is that to keep the site a bit under the radar so it remains in it's untrashed state?



Cheers Hughie! Appreciated mate. I have one external of this place but I rarely post them up and people have mixed views on whether we should or should not, So to keep the peace I just dont bother most of the time.



flyboys90 said:


> It was worth waiting for the skylight shot its great and all the others are too! As you say this site is truly stunning.



Cheers FB



Urbexbandoned said:


> Great pics! Stunning place



Thanks mate.


----------



## UrbanX (Dec 9, 2014)

Nice one, shame to see it in that condition - its gone downhill a lot lately. Sad to see the wallpaper ripped etc. 
Some of the most stunning shots I've ever seen of the place!  
I also got there far too early, and had a kip in one of the bedrooms, only to wake up surrounded by six sleeping French explorers lol! 
Glad you finally made it, its not a close one, and your photos have documented the place beautifully, thanks for sharing


----------



## Dugie (Dec 9, 2014)

UrbanX said:


> Nice one, shame to see it in that condition - its gone downhill a lot lately. Sad to see the wallpaper ripped etc.
> Some of the most stunning shots I've ever seen of the place!
> I also got there far too early, and had a kip in one of the bedrooms, only to wake up surrounded by six sleeping French explorers lol!
> Glad you finally made it, its not a close one, and your photos have documented the place beautifully, thanks for sharing



It has taken a bit of damage I have to agree mate. Hopefully that does not continue. On the main wall on the ground floor there was even boot prints really high up as if people had been slapping the trainers against it! Baffles me why they would want to do that.

Thanks for the comment on my images a comment like that is awesome 

I bet when you woke up your first thought was something along the lines of WTF hehe.

Yes it is out of the way and not much else close by either apart from a few small places which we looked at and then headed to Luxembourg for a location we really wanted to see.

Thanks again for the comment mate really appreciated.

Dugie


----------



## Snips86x (Dec 16, 2014)

That's incredible and a real shame this place is left as it is. That bathroom


----------

