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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Pays-de-la-Loire
  4. Loire-Atlantique
  5. 44370 Loireauxence

  6. Château de la Madeleine dit Palais Briau

 Château de la Madeleine dit Palais Briau à Varades en Loire-Atlantique

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Loire-Atlantique

Château de la Madeleine dit Palais Briau

    Palais Briau Rue de la Madeleine
    44370 Loireauxence
Château de la Madeleine à Varades
Château de la Madeleine dit Palais Briau
Château de la Madeleine dit Palais Briau
Crédit photo : Selbymay - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1862-1863
Construction of the castle
1863
Construction of the castle
1912
Octave-Prudent Crouan-Briau Mayor
1920
Sale to Léon Sloven
20 novembre 1998
Historical Monument
1998
Registration historical monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

All the built and landscaped estate, including the large driveway leading to the station (cad. G 598-608, 645, 646; K3 1037-1051, 1054-1056, 1996, 1997, 2021; YC 12, 13): entry by order of 20 November 1998

Key figures

François Briau - Entrepreneur and Mayor of Varades Commander of the castle in 1863.
Édouard Moll - Architect Designer of the Palladian villa style castle.
Berthe Briau - Inheritance Daughter of François, wife of Octave-Prudent Crouan.
Octave-Prudent Crouan - Engineer and mayor Spouse of Berthe, mayor in 1912.
Léon Slove - Acquirer in 1920 New owner of the estate.
Jules Dauban - Painter Author of interior decorations (mentioned).
Edouard Moll - Architect Manufacturer of Palladian style castle.
Octave-Prudent Crouan-Briau - Engineer and Mayor of Varades Heir and mayor in 1912.
Cyril de La Patellière - Descendant of Slovenia Heir in 1982.

Origin and history

The Palais Briau, originally named Château de la Madeleine, is an emblematic building from the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, located in Varades in the Loire-Atlantique, in the Pays de la Loire. This monument, in Palladian style, was erected in 1862-1863 by architect Édouard Moll for François Briau, engineer of Arts and Crafts and contractor specialized in the construction of railway lines, including the Nantes-Pornic line. Briau, also Mayor of Varades, embodies his economic success through an architecture inspired by Italy, mixing bricks, limestone and stucco decorations.

The estate extends over 18 hectares, integrating the ruins of an old castle, a dead arm of the Loire transformed into a "drink", and sophisticated landscape developments (terraces, orangery, alleyways). The site reflects the modernism of the time, with innovations such as electricity and explicit references to the railway, symbol of the industrial revolution. The castle then passed to the Crouan family through the marriage of Berthe Briau with Octave-Prudent Crouan, himself mayor of Varades in 1912, and was sold in 1920 to Léon Slova, whose descendants inherited it in 1982.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1998, the Briau Palace dominates the Loire Valley and faces the Abbey of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil. Its park, commons and architecture bear witness to an industrial, artistic (paintings of Jules Dauban) and family heritage, linked to the dynasties of engineers and shipowners of the region. The name "Palais Briau" was recently awarded to him in tribute to his sponsor.

The castle also illustrates the local networks of influence: the Crouan, cousins of the Briau, own several castles in the Loire-Atlantique (such as the Jamonières or the Hossinière), and are linked to maritime figures such as Fernand Crouan, owner of the famous three-mast Belem. These connections underline the role of the industrial and territorial elites in the transformation of the Liberian landscape in the 19th century.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum