Paris1972-Versailles2003

I love castles seen so many in my belle France but each new ones is just more beautiful lol except one…hehehe you know if you read my blog.  I like to expand on my previous post on the Château de Brissac as found more pictures me think should be in my blog, This is in the old town of Brissac-Quincé , now since 2016 is call Brissac Loire Aubance in dept 49 of Maine et Loire in the Pays de la Loire region of my belle France !

The town is located on the D 748 road, 16 km south of Angers, 29 km from Saumur, 46 km from Cholet, 85 km from Nantes and 266 km from Paris; and 252 km from my house. I will cut short on the text as mainly was told in the previous posts, this is some new info and plenty of older pictures, but new to the blog, Therefore, this is my take on the Château de Brissac, part I !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Château de Brissac has been the property and residence of the family of the Dukes of Brissac since the beginning of the 16C. Today it is the residence of the 13th Duke of Brissac.  The Château de Brissac is the highest in France, indeed, 51 meters high with its seven floors, it totals 204 rooms. Some of them have their gilded ceilings, the castle has precious furniture.

A visit to the state rooms and bedrooms reveals a dazzling decor of ceilings painted and gilded with gold leaf. The interior decorations are beautifully crafted, in the light of these gilded ceilings, these tapestries, the large living room and its family portraits… Just like the dining room and its imposing table set ready to receive its guests. In August 1620, it was the scene of a significant event: the reconciliation of Louis XIII and his mother, Marie de Médicis. The King’s bedroom, accessible by the large monumental gallery 32 meters long, keeps the memory of the passage of the monarch then 19 years old. Historic rooms, art galleries and a delightful Belle Epoque theater dedicated to opera. Born from the ambitious dream of Jeanne Say, Marquise de Brissac, this theater hosted an opera festival from 1890 to 1914. The Marquise, a talented soprano, welcomed all artistic and social Parisians there.

The Château de Brissac, also has a tea room called Le Pavillon des Cèdres. The estate, faithful to the wine-growing tradition of the Angevin region, has a vineyard that brings to maturity a Rosé d’Anjou that the visitor can taste in the cellar. of the castle. Planted in 2002 to commemorate the 500 years’ family presence of the Cossé Brissac, the vine of five centuries stretches its ranks facing the colonnade of the mausoleum of the Dukes. The wines of the estate are the fruit of a 26-hectare vineyard which mainly produces rosé wines in AOC. They are presented to visitors during a tasting in the silence and meditation of the stone vaults of the cellar of the castle.

A bit of history I like tell us that it was originally a castle built by Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou,(who built so the story about 35 castles in the region)  in the 11C. After the defeat of the English by Philippe Auguste, this one yields it to Guillaume des Roches. The castle was acquired in 1435 and rebuilt in 1455 by Pierre de Breze, a rich minister of Charles VII. At the death of the latter, occurred at the Battle of Montlhéry saving the king, it is his son, Jacques, who inherits and moved to the castle. He settled there with his wife Charlotte de Valois (daughter of Charles VII and Agnès Sorel). When Jacques discovers that his wife has an affair with his friend Pierre de Lavergne, he pierces her with his sword in 1462; today a legend claims that it appears in the form of a white lady on stormy nights. During the reign of Francis I, the property was bought in 1502 by René de Cossé whom the king named governor of Maine and Anjou. The castle thus enters the family of Cossé which then adopts the name of Brissac.

The Cossé-Brissac retain the castle until 1792. During the French revolution, it is requisitioned and turned into quartering for the Bleus (republican revolutionaries) of   Vendée. Sacked by the revolutionaries, it remains in this state until 1844, where a program of restoration is undertaken and pursued by the Cossé-Brissac, to whom the castle is restored after the revolution, and whose members are there since. In 1890 is inaugurated its theater, created on two floors by its owner, Jeanne-Marie Say granddaughter of the famous sugar refiner Louis Say, widow in first wedding of Roland de Cossé, marquess of Brissac in 1871, then viscountess of Trédern .

The Duke of Brissac proposed his castle to house works of art, it received in 1939-1940 during WWII such as the furniture of Versailles ! kept on site until 1946 by the wife of Gaston Brière, it former curator, and works of museums Gustave Moreau, Nissim de Camondo, Decorative Arts, Châlons sur-Marne, the Elysée and Senate palaces, the Comédie Française, the Swiss legation, the embassies of Argentina and Great Britain and among 65 private collections such as the ones of André Lhote, Maurice Denis, Paul Valery and the treasure of the cathedral of Angers. In 1950, Jean Morin, then prefect of the department, had the idea of ​​organizing a theatrical performance at the castle. This spectacular open to the public, the castle is home to a Christmas market, an Easter egg hunt and the Fashion Flower Festival. It also regularly hosts events related to hot air balloons, as departures of the Championship of France and   inaugurates what will become the Festival d’ Anjou.

The Anjou vineyards towns tourist office on the Brissac castle:  https://www.anjou-vignoble-villages.com/visites/chateau-de-brissac/

The official Château de Brissac :  https://brissac.net/?lang=en

The Saumur tourist office on the Château de Brissac: https://www.ot-saumur.fr/en/chateaux-et-manoirs/chateau-de-brissac-5371940/

The local Anjou Loire Valley tourist office on the château de Brissac:  https://www.anjou-loire-valley.co.uk/diffusio/visit/chateau-de-brissac-brissac-loire-aubance_TFOPCU812000040

There you go folks,recommended , really nice castle in the other Loire, Pays de la Loire, a lovely trip indeed in my belle France! Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Château de Brissac, part I !!! as I 

And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!