Château des Rochers-Sévigné, Vitré, France

Les Rochers was the estate of the Mathefelon family from the 12th century, before being passed by marriage to the Sévigné family in 1410. The family rebuilt the château in the early 16th century. Between 1644 and 1690, Madame de Sévigné stayed here and refurnished the house. She gave names to the paths through the gardens and in 1689 her son commis-sioned the French Gardens from Le Nôtre. In 1715, the Nétumières family bought the estate and carried out building and restoration works. Today there is a visitor centre at the 17th century Orangerie and exhibition about Madame de Sévigné and the Château des Rochers.

References:

Brittany Tourism

User Reviews

Pecourt Jerome (3 years ago)
Dommage pour le praticien en pente.

Daniel LANA (3 years ago)
Je n'ai pas joué au golf, j'ai juste pris un café avec des amis à la terrasse du club à l'occasion d'une reconnaissance de randonnée autour des étangs. Le cadre est magnifique, et l'accueil du personnel de l'établissement ainsi que des clients présents a été très sympathique.

Fernando Machado (3 years ago)
Repas excellents et super cadre.

Anthony Crosnier (3 years ago)
Lieu Magnifique. Golf au pied du château de madame de sevigné. Vous êtes accueilli par une équipe souriante et passionné.

JC G (3 years ago)
J'y joue depuis plus de 10 ans et c'est toujours un réel plaisir d'y revenir , persuadé que faire la route depuis Rennes se justifie pleinement. Superbe parcours, tournant autour du château de Madame de Sévigné, technique mais abordable, avec très souvent une sensation d'être seul au monde,permettant de profiter pleinement de l'instant. L'accueil y est simple et agréable dans une ancienne écurie donnant énormément de cachet à l'ensemble. Très beau practice le long d'une muraille du château. N'ayant pas déjeuné au restaurant depuis très longtemps, je me garde de donner un avis.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright beyondhue

Historic Site of the week

Lednice Castle

The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

During the revolt of the Czech nobility he stood on the side of the Habsburgs, and took part in the Battle of White Mountain. After the uprising was defeated in 1620 he systematically acquired property confiscated from some of the rebels, and the Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia, rising in status above the Žerotíns. Their enormous land holdings brought them great profits, and eventually allowed them to carry out their grandious building projects here in Lednice.

In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Château des Rochers-Sévigné

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Lednice Castle

Looks like you are a history fan!