Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Brézé, located in the department of Maine-et-Loire 10 km south of Saumur, is a 16th century building built on lands owned by the lords of Brézé since the 11th century. Its origins are linked to the abbey of Fontevraud, beneficiary of donations from the first lords. The site includes an exceptional underground network, including troglodytic pieces (blangery, stables) and defensive elements such as ditches of 18 metres deep, dug between the 15th and 16th centuries.

In 1448 Gilles de Maillé-Brézé obtained permission to strengthen the castle and had the ditches dug. The Renaissance castle, in Italian style, was rebuilt in the early 16th century by Arthur de Maillé. The seigneury became a marquisate in 1615 under Louis XIII, attributed to Urbain de Maillé-Brézé, married to Nicole du Plessis, sister of Richelieu. Their daughter Claire-Clémence passed the estate to the Grand Condé in 1650, who lost it in 1653 during the Fronde, before exchanging it in 1682 for La Galissonnière's chestnut.

In the 19th century, the family of Dreux-Brézé modernized the castle: Henri-Évrard de Dreux-Brézé extended the Renaissance wing, while his grandson Henri-Simon and architect René Hodé gave it a neo-Gothic style. The undergrounds, partly dating from before 1063, include a clover shelter rock equipped for extended seats. The dovecote (3,700 bolts) and orangery complete the outbuildings. Ranked a historic monument in 1979, the castle now belongs to the Colbert du Cannet family.

The air castle consists of three wings in U: the South Renaissance wing, extended in the 19th century, has canned pilasters and columns of red marble. The northern and central wings, redesigned by Hodé, incorporate neo-Gothic elements such as a niche square tower and a rotunda. Richelieu's room, the only room keeping its 16th century layout, has a monumental fireplace in polychrome marbles. The 4 km of underground, including silos and a round road, testify to its defensive and domestic role.

Culturally, Marcel Proust evokes Brézé in Du Côté de Guermantes, describing him as a "royal" home linked to Bourbon-Condé, princes of blood. This literary reference is based on the real history of the castle, passed from the Condé to the family of Dreux-Brézé, then to the Colberts. The ditches, dug in several stages, provided the stones for its construction, illustrating medieval and reborn ingenuity.

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