Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Parc Soubise, located in Mouchamps in Vendée, is a monument dating back to the 17th century, with major changes in the 4th quarter of the 18th century and 2nd quarter of the 19th century. It was originally owned by the family of Parthenay-L'Archêque, then by the Rohans, before moving to the Chabots in 1784. This castle, anchored in the vendean bocage, was a high place of Protestantism in France, notably under the influence of Michèle de Parthenay, the governess of Renée de France and close to Anne de Bretagne. After the Wars of Religion, he became a symbol of Protestant resistance under Henri de Rohan, before being dismantled by order of Richelieu in 1628.

In the 18th century, the castle was rebuilt by Pierre Bonfils, a Protestant, before being acquired in 1784 by Charles-Augustin de Chabot. During the Revolution in 1794 he was burned by the infernal column of Lachenay, which massacred 200 people in his courtyard. The Count of Chabot, returning from exile, decides to keep the ruins in memory of these tragic events. The castle, partially restored, preserves elements of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as the commons (grange, attic, cellar) and the chapel.

The estate is now protected, with inscriptions and rankings to historical monuments (1987 and 1989). It houses lodgings and rooms for cultural events, such as the biennial theatre festival. Film director Robert Bresson shot Lancelot du Lac in 1974. Owned by the Chabot family, the castle remains a poignant testimony to the religious and revolutionary conflicts that marked the Vendée.

Soubise Park is also linked to major historical figures. Catherine de Parthenay, granddaughter of Jean V de Parthenay, held a brilliant courtyard, welcoming Henri de Navarre (future Henri IV), mathematician François Viète and writer Agrippa d'Aubigné. After the Wars of Religion, the estate passed to the Rohan-Chabot through the marriage of Marguerite de Rohan with Henri de Chabot in 1645. These ties with the Protestant and Catholic nobility make it an emblematic place of French history.

Architecturally, the present castle blends the 17th century (common) remains with an 18th century reconstruction, marked by classical style. The interior decorations of the chapel, classified in 1989, as well as the facades and roofs inscribed in 1987, illustrate this duality. The site, registered in 1977 for its picturesque and historical character, is now managed by a SCI of which Chabot's family is a member, perpetuating its heritage while opening it to the public.

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