A promisekept.

It begins with a promise made in the 1970s. That of a law student who one day promised his wife he would give her « a beautiful romantic château ». A dream born of reading Marcel Pagnol's novel « My Mother's Castle », of the quiet grandeur of south-west France and the beauty of its landscapes.

Originally, Château Saint-Germé was commissioned by the Viscount of Corneillan, a descendant of the illustrious Corneillan family, lords rooted in Gascony for close to a thousand years.

From the cartulary of the priory of Saint-Mont, kept by the monks of the order of Cluny who lived in the abbey of Saint-Mont, we learn that the abbey was built around the year 1095, thanks in particular to funding from the Corneillans, established on the plain, on what is now the village of Saint-Germé.

Several buildings followed one another on this land: a first château in the 11th century, lost to ground too damp; a second in the 17th; then, in the middle of the 19th, the present building, the work of the architect Joseph-François-Léopold Gentil, chief architect of the Gers département, who gave it its resolutely romantic style.

In 1950, on the death of the last Viscount of Corneillan, the family left the region. The château served for a time as a holiday camp before being abandoned in the 1980s. Collapsed roof, weakened floors, looting: the estate passed through its darkest years.

The law student, who became a professor of international law and then a company director, had not forgotten his promise. In late 1994 fate knocked at the door: a friend reported that a château was going to auction at the court in Auch. Despite its dilapidated state, it was love at first sight.

In January 1995, M. Safty acquired Château Saint Germé to give it to his wife as a token of his Love.

From 1995 to 2015 the couple devoted themselves entirely to restoring the château, helped by their children and those close to them; every detail duly carries a family mark:

• The roof was entirely rebuilt in 1997: new slate from Spain, oak beams replaced, the whole frame consolidated, inspected and then treated. A project of several months carried out by Compagnons du Devoir, a choice of exacting standards, of excellence and of passing on craft.
• Then came the electrical, plumbing and sanitary works. Monsieur Safty overlooked no room, no technical aspect of the restoration; a great many craftsmen and firms from the region followed one another to work on the building.
• Every chimney flue was inspected and consolidated to ensure safety and healthy air indoors. Stainless steel flues were fitted as a ventilation solution.
• The château's lower floors received a great deal of attention in the fight against damp: an external screed four metres wide was poured all around the building to draw rainwater away from the underground walls, each room was given floor drainage, and an overall ventilation system was installed. Floors and walls were tiled.
• Central heating running on mains gas and wood pellets was installed throughout the château; every cast-iron radiator still in place was restored, and those on the ground floor, which had been stolen, were replaced after months of searching.
• The window grilles were removed and restored, the bull's-eye windows in the roof received a new layer of zinc, and the gutters and rainwater pipes were rebuilt. Every broken pane was replaced and the frames renovated or changed.
• Finally, the first major works in the park were launched: a lake was drawn and dug to bring the freshness walkers look for. An entrance worthy of the estate was created from the route de Saint-Mont, with a stately rise aligned on the château. To this day that perspective impresses every visitor!

While monsieur Safty devoted himself to saving and restoring the buildings, madame devoted herself to the interior decoration of the restored rooms.

• The fireplaces that had been looted or were too damaged were replaced by new ones in marble and granite from Italy, Turkey and Iran.
• Then came the finishing work: plasterers and painters followed one another to rebuild the walls and the ceiling roses.
• The furniture was either sourced from the region's antique fairs or specially commissioned. Every room was thought through with love and with care to respect the soul of the château.
• Hangings were made, and the glorious history of the Corneillan family was brought back to life thanks to historical research and the accounts of the historians who came to the château one after another to contribute.
• The parquet floors were restored, large mirrors took their place on the walls and, above all, the original library in solid oak, built with the château, received close attention so as to recover all its lustre.

On the death of M. Safty in 2015, his son Hakim, a commissary officer in the armed forces, decided to settle on the estate to continue his parents' work and, in time, to offer the property as a prestigious setting for exceptional events.

He therefore continued his military career in the commissariat, within the land forces at Pau, until his retirement in 2019. Since then he has given his energy to the château, surrounded by his family, including his mother, who continues to watch over this place so dear to her.

He began his major projects with the park, for which he called on landscape architects: many species of tree were planted there — Ginkgo biloba, Liquidambar, Canadian and Japanese maples, Serbian spruce, cedar of Lebanon, Paulownia, Catalpa, and more.

Then in 2021 he undertook the complete refurbishment of the « L'Auberge » hotel, in a chic country style, to the standards of the most comfortable hotels; the 16 rooms are fitted with reversible air conditioning, Smart TV, a large bed with memory-foam mattress, a marble bathroom, and so on. A colossal undertaking that would demand three years of steady work and the involvement of many local craftsmen and firms.

As weddings often call for a room larger than the Bergerie, in 2023 he launched the construction of a majestic Orangery. This building, the last on the estate, was completed in early 2026 after two years of intense work. Today it hosts most private and corporate events. Its seven crystal chandeliers, its imposing central chandelier and its Eiffel-style metal structure are behind the growing success of the venue.

Château Saint-Germé is not one estate among others; it is in truth a promise kept, a true story, a family adventure still in the making…