Vizille is a French town situated along the Romanche River at an elevation of approximately 268 m, located 15 kilometers south-east of Grenoble. The most prominent landmark of the town is the majestic Château de Vizille, which houses the Museum of the French Revolution and features a vast park expanding south of the castle.
The Musée de la Révolution Française de Vizille, a rich repository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French Revolution, has been housed since 1984 inside this historic monument. The chateau, celebrated as the grandest in the historical Dauphiné province, was completely rebuilt in the structural form it retains today during the seventeenth century by François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, the last Connétable de France.
A hundred hectares of beautifully landscaped greens, sheets of water, interconnected canals, and a sprawling hunting woodland pierced by strategic rides and grand avenues surround the château. This entire estate is enclosed by a massive historical stone wall stretching seven kilometres in circumference, with the grounds beautifully maintained by the Conseil général de l'Isère.
The site carries profound historical weight and is an ideal location for its museum. When the château was purchased by Claude Perier, a wealthy bourgeois of Grenoble who established a print fabric manufacture within it, he opened its doors to a critical turning point in French history. On 21 July 1788, the three estates of the realm, convoked in Grenoble as the Assemblée des notables but strictly forbidden to assemble within the city limits, were welcomed here. They held their assembly inside the historic salle du jeu de paume, where their radical deliberations effectively opened a brand new chapter in the history of France.
author: Boštjan Burger