History & Vision

a historic site

In the 17th century Château d’Orion was built as an “Abbaye laïque”. Up to the French Revolution the former owner of Château d’Orion the family Casamayor looked after the nearby church. Following, the family of Jean-Ninon Larrouy bought the property, their wealth was based on trading the famous “Jambon de Bayonne”.

Through the heirs Louis and afterwards Henriette Larrouy the manor came into the possession of the famous French surgeon Paul Reclus who carried out experiments with cocaine as an anaesthetic. Paul Reclus’ brothers were also well-established characters at that time. Élisée Reclus was one of the most famous anarchists in France and a world famous geographer and Armand Reclus played an important part as an engineer of the Panama Canal.

In the 1950s his descendant Jean Labbé married Marguerite Bérard, the daughter of the former education secretary of France Léon Bérard. Madame Labbé still lives in Château d’Orion till this day. In 2003 Madame Labbé sold the house together with the inventory to the family Premauer. 

To take possession of a house full of history like Château d’Orion means to take on responsibility. Therefore we decided to create a chambre d’hôtes where you can feel the spirit of the centuries without churning up the dust of the past. We love all of the stories left at the château by the people who have lived there. The intellectual microcosm of the past is now filled with exhibitions, concerts, seminars and weeks of reflection.

stimulating encounters

Château d’Orion is the guesthouse, which creates through encounters impetus for an intercultural Europe. We consider it our duty to enrich this historic house by new stories and to navigate it into the future. Just like the former owner Marguerite Labbé describes it: “Amour et vie sont de retour dans cette maison!” – “Love and life are back in this house.” 

Over the last years we have realized and participated in numerous projects, i.e. an exchange of French and German craftsmen or the Fermes d’Avenir Tour, aiming for a more sustainable and responsible agriculture. We were rewarded for our effort by being given the European Citizenship Award from the European Parliament in 2013, the French-German friendship award from the Consulate General in Bordeaux in 2017, the Shine A Light-candle which is an initiative for more humanity and tolerance as well as by being honored at the hands of the French National Assembly. It is a pleasure to experience where the encounters have taken us so far. For us this is an encouragement and motivation at the same time to continue our work and to find new ways of touching people.

The associations Château d’Orion e.V. in Germany and Rencontre d’Orion in France make every effort in order to help bringing new ideas and projects into the world.