Farm of Sougey

The lands of Sougey were the property of great local nobles, such as the lords of Châtillon-les-Dombes, the lords of Loriol (or Asnières) and the Chossats.
Today the domain is smaller, but it is known for its old farm, which would be the oldest in Bresse (1460). Classified as a historic monument in 1946, it has been the property of the Department since 2002 and is now a museum of the region.
The farm is composed of four buildings: a furnished main building or "house", a farm building with a barn and small stables, an oven with pigsties and a large stable occupying almost the entire building.
The house has a Saracen chimney which has remained intact and whose mitre, in visible brick, is the only one on a square base with that of Mollardoury. The so-called "baroque" chimney is topped by a bell tower framed by four small pinnacles.
In the buildings are proposed exhibitions of old tools and costumes and the reconstitution of a classroom. The bocage surrounding the farm has 6 km of hedges and large alleys lined with hundred-year-old oaks, classified as a sensitive natural area (ENS). There are also two ponds, a conservatory orchard of apple and pear trees, an interpretation trail on Bresse poultry, the bocage and Bresse architecture. A couple of donkeys, Romeo and Juliette, the farm's mascots, await the young and old visitors.
The domain keeps the memory of its last occupant, Maria FAVIER, an emblematic character of Bresse, whose stories enchanted some personalities of her time, such as Jacky Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot or VGE.

An interpretation trail runs around the farm for 550m with interactive stations in English and French. It is accessible to people with reduced mobility and allows you to discover the routes of the Bresse PDO poultry farm and the farm animals: donkeys, sheep and goats.

For the youngest:
Discovery games are proposed:

Orientation games for children on 3 themes:
-- the animals of the bocage
- the trees of Sougey :
- the Bresse architecture

Traditional games can also interest the children; bowling, boules...

The site is managed by the association "les Amis du Sougey et de la Bresse" which offers guided tours for individuals and groups, as well as animations (Bresse snack) and a biannual sound and light show (more than 350 volunteer actors directed by Xavier ARLOD) whose profits are reinvested in the preservation of the farm.

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