Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers, located in Les Trois-Moutiers in Vienna (New Aquitaine), has its origins in the 13th century under the name of La Mothe-Bauçay, property of the Bauçay family. During the Hundred Years' War, he was disputed between English and French, before being confiscated by Charles V in 1371 for misdefense, then returned to the Bauçay. In the 15th century, he passed by alliance to the Rochechouart, which gave him his present name in 1624 after inheritances and exiles linked to the Fronde.

In the 17th century, François de Rochechouart, Marquis de Chandeniers, made it a place of luxury and festivities, described as "a truly royal splendour" by the poet Léonard Frizon. Ruined, he sold the estate in 1668. The castle then changed hands among the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, including the Lamonion and the Maupeou, who left it as a marquisate in 1767. At the beginning of the 19th century, the entrepreneur François Hennecart partially restored it and built the surroundings with vineyards and canals.

In the 1850s, Baron Edgar Lejeune and his wife Marie Ardoin undertook a complete reconstruction of the castle in a romantic neo-Gothic style, inspired by Loire castles such as Blois or Azay-le-Rideau. The architect Adolphe Gaumont designs a building surrounded by water, symbol of prestige. But in 1932, a fire ravaged the castle, saving only the chapel and outbuildings. The damage, estimated at several million, marks the beginning of a decline despite attempts to safeguard.

In the 20th century, the estate passed into the hands of Jules Cavroy, who installed returnees from Algeria, and then a professor of mathematics in the 1980s, without success for its preservation. In 2017, a crowdfunding campaign organized by Dartagnans and Adopts a castle allows 18,558 contributors from 115 countries to buy the castle for 1.6 million euros. A SAS is created to manage restoration, with work started in 2019.

Today, the Mothe-Chandeniers Castle is the largest condominium in the world, with the objectives of securing the ruins, opening up to the public and promoting the cultural value of the site. The park has been accessible since 2018, while the works, estimated at 7 years, aim to preserve this emblematic heritage of Vienna. The project combines innovation (such as hosting the Drone Racing League in 2018) and historical preservation.

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