Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Châteaubriant Castle, located at the edge of the communes of Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire and d-Angers, is distinguished by its 18th century provincial architecture. Its ordered facades, pediment, complex roofs and stone links reflect the aesthetic codes of the era. The seven-hectare park, structured by curvilinear aisles, houses a temple on ice, a central water room and an octagonal pavilion, typical of the landscaped gardens of this period. In the east, an alley lined with commons (orangery and chapel) leads to a vegetable garden, while in the west, a lawn replaces the old vegetable garden, highlighting the successive transformations of the estate.

The history of the castle dates back to the 12th century, when the family of Châteaubriant, owner of the fief, gave it its name. In the 18th century, the estate passed into the hands of the widow of Gaspard van Breedenbeck, linked to the sugar farm in the West Indies and to an Angelian refinery founded under Colbert. In 1769, Darlus de Montclerc acquired the castle and entrusted its transformation to the architect Bardoul de la Bigotière, known for other local achievements such as the Château de Pignerolles. The modifications continued in the 19th and 20th centuries, with successive owners such as the Viscount d'Andigné de Beauregard (1842), the Lainé-Laroche (1864), and the Cointreau family (1898), which made it a summer residence.

The castle was listed as a historical monument in 1988 for its facades, roofs, commons, chapel, open gates, octagonal pavilion, cooler, periphery temple, and all its park. Edouard Cointreau, then his descendants whose watercolourist Sylvie Mercier (daughter of Jean-Adrien Mercier, resident of the castle until his death), were the last owners. The building thus illustrates the architectural and social evolution of a noble domain, marked by colonial economic influences and adaptations to the tastes of successive epochs.

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