Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gaudinière Castle was built in the 18th century in Nantes, in the Breil-Barberie district. Prior to the French Revolution, he belonged to Louis Chaurand, a Nantes shipowner linked to the Beauharnais and Tascher families of Pagerie. The estate, composed of a house, a chapel and an English garden, reflected a craze for exotic plants such as magnolia or cypress-chauve.

In 1814, the castle passed to the families of Aux and Perrian, before being acquired by the Goüin under the Restoration. The latter, close to the Balzac, transform the property into an agricultural and landscaped estate. In 1857, the banker J. Brousset, a relative of the Goüin, enlarged the park (17 hectares in 1881) and rebuilt the castle between 1864 and 1873 by architect Léon Lenoir, introducing atypical red bricks for Nantes.

The park, embellished by landscape architect Provost, welcomes in 1864 a giant redwood. In 1918, the Belots, bankers, restored the estate with the Lizé brothers before selling it partially to the city in 1936. The castle, acquired by CRAM in 1948 for a rehabilitation centre, was finally bought by Nantes in 1992. Modern extensions are demolished to regain its original appearance, but the building remains unoccupied in the 21st century.

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