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Origin and history

Château de la Juvardière, also known as Château de la Juvardière, is a historic fief in Sacé, in the department of Mayenne. Mentioned in 1194 under the name Gaufridus de Juvauderia, he was then bound to the local seigneury and had rights of medium and low justice. The archives reveal traces of an ancient medieval home, described in 1712 as a "old mazure" in ruins, probably occupied by the family of the Vaux in the 16th century. This first castle was replaced by a modest "seigneurial house" surrounded by walls, gardens and dovecote, attested in 1619.

In the 19th century, the old house gave way to a castle of neo-XVe style, partially designed by Isabelle de Crozé de Clesmes, daughter of Guillaume-François d'Ozouville. The present building, bordered by turrets in corbellation, dominates the Mayenne Valley to the west and is bordered to the east by the Corbineul Creek (now Aunay-Roux). At the end of the 19th century, his living room housed family portraits, including Jean-François de Hercé, bishop of Nantes and mayor of Laval, as well as members of the family of Ozouville, linked to the history of the place.

The site also includes remains such as the cloister of the Chapel, mentioned in 1795, and two ponds associated with the Corbineul mill. The written sources, including the Titles de la Juvaudière and the parish registers, trace his toponymic evolution (La Gevaudière, La Jevaudière) and his role as seigneurial seat. The castle thus illustrates the architectural and social transformations of a fief mayennais, from medieval origins to its romantic reconstruction.

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