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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château de l'Étoile rises on the ruins of a pre-demonstrated abbey founded around 1130 by Geoffroy Grisegonelle, Count of Vendôme, and his wife Mathilde de Châteaudun. The abbey, first flourishing, began in 1559, then reformed in 1670 before being reunited at Saint-Georges Abbey in Saint-Martin-des-Bois in 1770. Its sober architecture, without carved decoration, reflects the austerity of order.

In the mid-19th century, Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld acquired the site and dismantled the convent buildings to erect his castle between 1851 and 1853. Designed by the architect Phidias Vestier in a neo-Louis XIII style, the castle dominates the ancient abbey, whose four-span nave, choir and Romanesque portal remain. The transept, once surmounted by a central bell tower, and the collaterals disappeared.

The abbey, classified as Historical Monument in 1953, preserves elements of the 12th and 16th centuries, such as the hooked gable. The remains of the abbey, the hydraulic installations (including a pool) and the facades of the castle have been protected since 2006. The site thus illustrates the transformation of a medieval religious place into a modern aristocratic residence, typical of 19th century heritage recompositions.

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