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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château de Montcalm, also known as Château de Vestric, is a 16th-century building located in Vestric-et-Candiac, Gard department. Originally dependent on the Marquisate of Calvisson, he changed hands several times, passing between those of noble families such as the Buade, the Berard of Tarabias, or the Marquis of Grave, before being acquired by the Marquis of Thoiras. This castle, marked by a typical architecture of its time, was deeply linked to the history of Louis Joseph de Saint-Véran, Marquis de Montcalm, born nearby in 1712.

In 1730 Louis Joseph de Montcalm, future lieutenant of the armies in New France, bought the castle on the occasion of his marriage with Louise Talon du Boulay. He lived there before finding a heroic death in 1759 at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, trying to defend Canada against the English. This historical link with New France gives the castle a special memorial dimension, reinforced by a statue of Montcalm, erected in 1910 by Léopold Morice, who sits in front of the building.

Ranked a historic monument since May 15, 1944, the Château de Montcalm has undergone a remarkable conversion since the 1970s. Purchased by the Belgian association Vacances et Care, Treatment, Rehabilitation of the motor infirmity of cerebral origin (VESTRIC), it has been entirely designed to accommodate people with disabilities. Today, the site offers adapted stays, accessible infrastructure and a secure environment, thus perpetuating a social and inclusive vocation.

On the architectural level, the castle consists of a two-storey house body, flanked by a second square body and two towers remaining on the four original ones. Inside, a French staircase and period ceilings testify to his aristocratic past. The communes, separated from the castle by a terrace, complete this historic ensemble, today dedicated to well-being and rehabilitation.

The Château de Montcalm thus embodies a twofold memory: that of an architectural and historical heritage linked to the nobility of the Languedoc and the Canadian epic, and that of a contemporary place oriented towards welcoming and including people with disabilities.

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