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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Nouvelle-Aquitaine
  4. Gironde
  5. 33720 Podensac

  6. Castle Chavat

Castle Chavat à Podensac en Gironde

Gironde

Castle Chavat

    2 Rue du Port
    33720 Podensac
Château Chavat
Château Chavat
Château Chavat
Château Chavat
Château Chavat
Crédit photo : Henry Salomé - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1917
Construction of the estate
1934
Sale to the municipality
2006
Historical monument classification
2011
Label Remarkable Garden
2012
Start of restorations
2017
Replacement of the stolen Venus
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

"The Chavat park, in total, with all its sculpted decoration and its water course, its greenhouses and the water castle called "Le Corbusier water castle" (cad. A 928, 85: park; 94, 95 : greenhouses ; 1234 : water castle) : classification by decree of 3 July 2006"

Key figures

François Thévenot - Sponsor and industrial Initial owner, built the estate.
Le Corbusier - Architect Designed the water tower in 1917.
Charles Bouhana - Landscape Author of park plans.
Léon Delmas - Master glass Realized the stained glass art deco.
Ernesto Gazzeri - Sculptor Author of the marbles of the park.
Jean-Marc Depuydt - Head of catering Directs the work since 2012.

Origin and history

Chavat Castle, located in Podensac, Gironde, was built in 1917 for François Thévenot, an industrial supplier of equipment during the First World War. The estate includes a neo-classical castle with art deco elements, a landscaped park inspired by Japanese gardens, and a water castle designed by Le Corbusier, its first known architectural achievement. Interior decors include stained glass windows signed by Léon Delmas, paintings by Clementine-Hélène Dufau, and wallpapers by the Züber Manufacture. The park, decorated with marble and bronze sculptures, is the work of the artists Gazzeri and Pio Welonski, while the landscape plans are attributed to Charles Bouhana.

The castle and its park, acquired by the commune in 1934, were partially lotted in the 20th century. The abandoned water tower is now isolated from the estate. Ranked a historic monument in 2006, the park earned the remarkable Garden label in 2011. Since 2012, a major restoration, led by Jean-Marc Depuydt, aims to restore its radiance to the site, including the repair of the stained glass windows by Bernard Fournier and the reconstitution of the statue Venus à la toilette, stolen in 2007 and replaced in 2017 by a work by Coralie Quincey.

François Thévenot, the owner of the estate, was a Bordeaux industrialist whose fortune allowed the creation of this eclectic place, mixing oriental and classical influences. After financial difficulties in the 1930s, the castle became a retirement home until 1999. Today, the site, a communal property, combines architectural and natural heritage, with greenhouses, a water course, and a statuary inspired by antiquity and the Renaissance.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum