The main wing of the Château de Brézé in the village of Brézé, Loire Valley, France
Some background information:
The Château de Brézé is located in the community of Brézé in the French department of Maine-et-Loire, just about ten kilometres (6.2 miles) south of the town of Saumur. The city of Angers is situated about 50 km (31 miles) to the northwest, while the city of Tours lies about 60 km (37 miles) to the northeast. It is considered one of the most intriguing castles of the Loire, partly due to its underground fortress, and partly because of its rich history.
The Château de Brézé was built between the 11th and 19th centuries in the heart of a vineyard with an area of several dozen hectares. In 1060, it was first mentioned in a document. But today’s structure dates primarily from the 16th to 19th centuries. However, the oldest parts of today’s building are the towers framing the main wing. They were erected in the 13th century, but were later modified to match the Renaissance appearance, which was contemporary almost 600 years ago. Their current architectural design is believed to date back to the rebuilding of the fortifications by Gilles de Maillé-Brézé in 1448.
Around 1515, the castle was again heavily modified. Additional alterations, carried out by Arthur de Maillé-Brézé around 1560, included the construction of the east side of the Renaissance wing. One of the castle’s most interesting parts is the moat. It’s a dry and very deep ditch, which was created by the quarrying of the tuff, on which the Château de Brézé stands. But it did not only have the purpose of a defensive work, as it was also used for economic reasons. In caves quarried into the tuff of the outer walls of the moat, visitors can still see the castle’s outbuildings such as a bakery, a press house, a wine cellar and a room for silkworm breeding.
Over the centuries, Château de Brézé has been home to several families. Just like the Brézé lordship and in the 17th century also the title of Marquis de Brézé, it belonged to the House of Maillé-Brézé, which had already acquired the village of Brézé in the 14th century. It was also this family, which carried out the first extensive renovations in the 15th century. After Gilles de Maillé-Brézé had received permission from René I, Duke of Anjou, to fortify the castle, he had the ten to twelve meter deep ditches dug around the building. In 1558, his descendant Arthur de Maillé-Brézé added the Renaissance wing. In 1615, the estate was made a marquisate by the French King Louis XIII and Urbain de Maillé-Brézé became the first marquis. He married Nicole du Plessis, the sister of Cardinal Richelieu, and their son Armand became an Admiral of France.
In 1650, Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé, sole heiress, married Louis II de Bourbon, prince of Condé, and passed the estate on to his family. In the same year, the "Great Condé" (that was his nickname) joined the Fronde. The Fronde was an alliance of the French nobility, the high judiciary of the Parlements, above all the Parlement of Paris, and parts of the people, also mainly in Paris, which was directed against the increasing absolutism in France in the 17th century. Subsequently, a series of civil wars took place between 1648 and 1653. In 1653, the Château de Brézé was occupied by royal troops for one year.
In 1682, Louis II de Bourbon exchanged the Château de Brézé for the Château de la Galissonnière near Nantes. The new owner of the estate, Thomas de Dreux, advisor to the Parliament in Paris, not only acquired the estate, but also received the title of Marquis under King Louis XIV. In 1701, the title of "Master of Ceremonies" was also bestowed on the family Dreux- Brézé, which they retained until 1830.
Henrio Evrard de Dreux-Brézé, King Louis XVI's Master of Ceremonies, expanded the Renaissance part of the castle. His son Pierre, Bishop of Moulins, and his grandson Henry Simon began remodeling the château, giving it the neo-Gothic style elements that are still in evidence today. After Charlotte de Dreux-Brézé had married Count Bernard de Colbert in 1959, the estate came into the possession of the Colbert family, who still live there today.
The current owners operate Brézé Castle mainly as a winery with around 30 hectares of cultivation area. Since the year 2000,parts of the cave's basement and the castle are open to the public. Since 2000, the Château de Brézé belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.