listed castle for sale Le Mans, France

A Neo-Gothic chateau, listed as a Historical Monument & sold furnished, with its outbuildings & grounds, on nearly 15 ha, 15 km from Le Mans. Edified on the slope of a hill, Le Mans extends to the north of the property, past the woods, while behind tall pillars, the property is accessible via a tarmac driveway bordered by tall trees and flanked by an entrance pavilion, which houses the caretaker’s residence. Advancing through the landscaped grounds provides views, on one side, of the chateau’s symmetrical northern façade, whereas, arriving at the top of the hill, several outbuildings constructed in the 19th century can be seen set back from the chateau. They specifically include the orangery, today converted into a guesthouse, which faces the chateau’s southern façade on the other side of the courtyard, while, to the west, at a distance from the buildings -- on the site of the rose garden and its pools as shown in Edouard André's original plans -- a swimming pool has been added. As for the grassy grounds, they lead to a pond below, which reflects the tall trees’ foliage, whereas, following on from there, the walls of the former vegetable garden, where a tennis court has been created, close the property off from the outside. The chateau, listed as a regional Historical Monument, was edified in 1844 in a Neo-Gothic style, while its plaster-coated exteriors, mostly symmetrical and rather distinct to the north and south, are topped with pedimented dormers decorated with moulded stone and, specifically, coats of arms. With slate roofs, punctuated with finials, the chateau's interiors feature 18th-century inspired décor, which is, in turn, supplemented with Art Deco details. In addition, the grounds, designed in 1877, are also listed as a national Historical Monument, whereas their landscaped composition, emblematic of the passion for botany in the 19th century, is the result of the close collaboration between an industrialist from Sarthe and Edouard André, an internationally renowned landscape architect, who designed Paris’s Buttes-Chaumont Park.