Château de la Flachère, Medieval castle in Saint-Vérand, France

Château de la Flachère stands on a hill above the confluence of the Azergues and Soanan in Saint-Vérand. The rectangular main block, rebuilt in brick and golden stone with slate roofs, has round towers with conical roofs at its corners, rows of tall windows, and a central stone entrance with steps. The estate covers about 270 hectares across Saint-Vérand, Le Bois-d'Oingt and Légny.

La Flachère was the seat of a Knights of Malta commandery in the 13th century. It passed by marriage from the Paranges to the Chévriers in 1584, then to the Durand family under Louis XV and to the Chaponay in 1796. The Chaponay had the present castle rebuilt from 1863 to 1869 to plans by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, with the whole completed in 1875. In 1911 it came to the Lévis-Mirepoix through Constance de Chaponay.

The Chaponay family, who rebuilt the castle, took their motto from the rooster on their coat of arms: "Gallo canente spes redit" (when the rooster crows, hope returns). The rooms they furnished—billiard room, music room, grand and small libraries—were classed or inscribed as monuments historiques along with the grand staircase.

The castle is privately owned and not open to visitors; the estate was divided into several properties in 1979. It stands on a hill above the confluence of the Azergues and Soanan, and the surrounding meadows and terraced outbuildings are best seen from the public lanes of Saint-Vérand and neighbouring Légny and Le Bois-d'Oingt.

The park was designed by Varey and includes rare tree species not commonly found in the region. A sophisticated water system runs through the grounds and continues to supply the estate today.