And I need to tell you about this as also found me some old pictures on paper a bit blurry but great memories of a hugely historical property. The Château de la Brède is located in the town of La Brède, in the department of Gironde 33 ; region of Nouvelle Aquitaine. The writer and thinker Montesquieu was born here in 1689 and wrote most of his work ! I will tell you a bit on the Château de la Bréde! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Château de La Brède as it appears today was built from the 14C. It was originally a fortified castle in the Gothic style, with a defensive system and surrounded by ditches, later filled with water in the 16C. Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, was born there on January 18, 1689. He lived there regularly throughout his life and wrote many of his works, including De l’esprit des lois. But he also carried out transformations, including a French garden, and an English garden. You can see Montesquieu’s bedroom, preserved in its 18C state, and his library, whose books have been transferred to the municipal library of Bordeaux.
The Château de la Bréde successively belonged to the families before passing to the Montesquieu family. It was the marriage of Jacques de Secondat, father of the political thinker, with Marie-Françoise Du Pesnel, which brought the castle into the heritage of the Montesquieus. It remained the property of the latter until 2004, the year in which the Countess Jacqueline de Chabannes died, the last descendant of Denise de Secondat, the youngest daughter of the writer. In 1994, the latter had entrusted by donation to the municipal library of Bordeaux all the works and documents in its possession, which represents the remainder of the original library, a large part of which was sold in 1926. As for all the manuscripts of Montesquieu formerly kept at the Château de La Brède, it was sold in 1939 to the Hôtel Drouot.
The official Château de la Bréde: http://www.chateaulabrede.com/en/
The Montesquieu tourist office on the castle and writer: https://www.tourisme-montesquieu.com/en/
There you go folks, a memorable visit to a wonderful historical property of the great Montesquieu! The Château de La Bréde is worth the detour indeed. Hope you enjoy the post and do visit.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 