CastleLe Mans (72)

Price :

$1,342,600

USD

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Surface645 m²bedroom1 land23.3 ha

A 16th century castle with an artist's cottage and outbuildings surrounded by a remarkable sculpted garden and 23 hectares of rolling countryside to the west of Le Mans. A small, little-used road winds through the hedged farmland from a nearby village and leads to the property, which is set in a dominant position in the middle of nature. The estate extends over around 23 hectares of parkland, meadows and farmland. At the entrance, there is a space in the middle of the greenery where vehicles can be parked. Visitors can go in two different directions. The first passage opens onto a remarkable garden measuring over a hectare, from which meadows grazed by cows and a chateau can be glimpsed on the horizon. The other access is via a first courtyard with a large outbuilding and its former stable on one side. It is followed by a loft-workshop at the far end of the courtyard, an old house and, to one side, the rear part of the chateau. To the back of this building there is a courtyard with another agricultural outbuilding. The remains of the ancient walls of the medieval castle, ruined during the Hundred Years' War, are still there. Most of the buildings have rubble stone facades with straight windows and steeply pitched slate or flat tile gable roofs. At the foot of the chateau, there are green spaces surrounded by outbuildings used for a variety of purposes, including a workshop, orangery, greenhouse and kiosk. Facing east-west, the chateau was built between 1520 and 1524 by the 29th abbess, Catherine de Couësme, who came from an ancient and powerful family from the Haut-Maine region. The building follows the principles of the Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio, who was in fashion during the Renaissance.