luxury real estate for sale Sézanne, France

A former Cistercian abbey with guest houses and 9 hectares of grounds, half an hour from Epernay in the Champagne region. Founded in 1142 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian abbey was built around the hermitage of Blessed Hugh the Hermit. It was named 'Notre Dame du Reclus' in memory of the holy hermit who came here to lead an isolated life in 1128, soon to be joined by a few companions wishing to imitate his example and share his solitude. They lived in 'seclusion', away from the world, isolated from villages and people, devoting themselves to prayer and meditation, in a spirit of penitence and contemplation. In 1567, during the French Wars of Religion, the monastic complex suffered considerable damage, losing half of its buildings, including the abbey church, which was destroyed and burnt down. Where the nave once stood, the abbots subsequently erected their own residence and the church was rebuilt in 1770. With the abolition of all monasteries, the French Revolution dealt a fatal blow to the religious history of 'Le Reclus' and the abbey was sold as a national property. Restoration work began in 1928 and the complex that can be seen today is almost completely rehabilitated. Surrounded by a stone wall and patiently restored over several decades by its current owner, the abbey forms a true hamlet with numerous outbuildings, almost all of which have been converted into gîtes (guest houses). The park features an open spring and finishes in a wood.

The advertiser did not provide an english description for this listing.

A vast family house hidden away in a hamlet in the Brie region of Champagne, 1 hour 15 minutes from Paris. The property, completely hidden from view behind high hedges, is enclosed by wire fencing. It is set on a spur at the centre of a fork, like the prow of an ocean liner, in a gently sloping wooded garden of approx. 3,400 m2 with the vast residence at its centre. A second woodland of 2900 m2 is located on the other side of the road. The result of a combination of farm buildings probably dating back to the 18th century, the architectural style of the residence seems to be simple at first glance, but in fact it is so complex that it cannot be summarized as a single letter of the alphabet. The former farmer's dwelling has been linked to what was originally the barn by a two-storey building clad in wide wooden slats with a window on the first floor.

A chateau dating back to the 16th and 18th centuries with a swimming pool, nestled in grounds that cover two hectares in France’s Champagne region. The chateau was used as a country house in the 18th century. It was once the centre of the Saron fiefdom – from which the Bochart de Champigny lineage derived its family name from 1630 onwards. From the 17th century, it was a site of astronomical observations by Jean Bochart de Saron and Pierre Gassendi and, in the 18th century, by Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart de Saron, Roger Joseph Boscovich and Charles Messier. The archives of the French Academy of Sciences mention the chateau as a place used to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun on 3 June 1769, to determine the path of Uranus in 1781, and to observe comets. The chateau is surrounded by walled grounds that cover two hectares. The grounds include a vegetable patch and are dotted with age-old trees, including a 300-year-old plane tree and 200-year-old box and linden trees. A main court extends in front of the chateau, as does the garden, which an imposing wrought-iron gate separates from the village. A towpath along the River Aube demarcates the property’s lower section. Behind the edifice, a slope leads down to a pond. An outdoor swimming pool and a small greenhouse are hidden behind a large neighbouring 16th-century church and cannot be seen from the chateau.

The advertiser did not provide an english description for this listing.

The advertiser did not provide an english description for this listing.

The advertiser did not provide an english description for this listing.

The advertiser did not provide an english description for this listing.