Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Flers, located on a marshy site suitable for defense, finds its origins in the Middle Ages as a modest construction of stones and half-timbers. It belongs successively to the families of Aunou, Harcourt and Tournebu between the 12th and 15th centuries. Its major evolution began in the 16th century, when Nicolas III de Grosparmy, owner of the forges of Halouze, erected the right wing flanked by round turrets between 1527 and 1541. Legend attributes its fortune to alchemy, but its wealth actually comes from the metallurgical industry. The estate then moved on to the Pellevé family, which enriched it with the acquisition of Condé-sur-Noireau's chestnut and obtained the erection of the barony in county in 1598.

In the 17th century, the park was renovated and embellished: a pond, a mill, geometric beds and cedar alleys transformed the marshy landscape. The communes, destroyed by fire, are rebuilt in the axis of the court of honor. The eighteenth century marked the climax of the estate under Louis de Pellevé and his son, who created a hunting park with monumental perspectives and modernized the house body. West wing becomes the main home, while Renaissance wing windows are expanded to harmonize facades. The gate of the court of honor, adorned with a comtal crown and made around 1764 by master locksmiths Pichard and Delaunay, symbolizes this fascist period.

The French Revolution and Norman caulianry marked a dramatic turning point. In 1793, then in 1799 and 1800, the Marquis Louis de Frotté established his headquarters at the castle, before the Republicans burned the old part in 1800. In the 19th century, the estate changed hands several times: bought in 1806 by Count Jean Sigismund de Redern, a Franco-Prussian businessman, it was then acquired in 1822 by Antoine Schnetz, Mayor of Flers, who opened the park to the public and sacrificed part of the land for the Paris-Granville railway line. In 1901, the municipality of Flers, led by Mayor Julien Salles, purchased the castle and its 37 hectares to install the town hall and a museum.

Architecturally, the castle presents itself as a fossilized quadrangular enclosure, flanked by round towers, with elements of the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. Ranked a historic monument in 1907, it now houses a museum rich in 19th century paintings and objects related to Norman traditions. The park, although hit by storms in the late 1980s, remains a popular place to walk, testifying to the turbulent history of the estate, from medieval lords to modern upheavals.

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