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Origin and history

The Château de La Rabatelière, located in Vendée, was born in the Middle Ages under the Rabasteau family, including a member, president of the Paris Parliament, who welcomed Jeanne d'Arc in 1429. The property then passed to the Hospitaliers du Saint-Sepulcre before being transferred to Pierre Bruneau as a reward for his fighting. The Bruneaus, thanks to matrimonial alliances such as Jacques Bruneau's with Jacquette Moreau in 1503, considerably expanded the estate, which became a Viscount in 1642.

In 1632 Louis XIII erected La Rabatelière in a baronie to reward Charles Bruneau, a defender of the island of Ré against the Huguenots. The family died in 1645 with François Bruneau, killed at the Battle of Nordlingen. The castle was sold to the Montaudouin in 1720 and then ransacked during the Revolution. Acquired in 1828 by Charles Henry de La Poëze, he was restored by his son Olivier, a chamberlain of Napoleon III, who created a landscape park there.

The castle, profoundly transformed between 1891 and 1900 by architect Felix Libaudière, was inscribed in the Historic Monuments in 2001. It is distinguished by its facades, moats, its 18th century oval living room, and its large neogothic living room. Today, it bears witness to Salesian history, from the wars of Religion to imperial restoration.

The protected elements include the commons, the court of honor, and interior decorations such as the gypseries of the oval lounge or re-used 17th century retables. The park, designed in the 19th century, completes this unique architectural ensemble, marked by centuries of varied transformations and stylistic influences.

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