Paris1972-Versailles2003

I am back to my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne in my belle France! I like to update this older post and tell you more of a wonderful castle even if not visited per se it can be seen, I will tell you about an off the beaten path castle that you can come to the gardens and maybe have a room in it ! Therefore, here is my take on the Château de Trédion , part II !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

We were in our usual road warrior rides in the countryside and saw a sign for Château of Trédion; seen the name before but with so much to do and see overpassed it several times;this time we were there.  The main areas in the garden to look at are the Clos du Roy  or King’s field,  a French style garden,  surrounded by 4000 m² walls, with pools. The Jardin de curé or priest’s garden , traditional garden,  the vegetable patch.  The Jardin des druides or druids’ garden; fountains, bridge of secrets, chalices, the Druid’s tree, the fine gold standing stone in the middle of 3 cascading ponds, 5000m² with the menhir covered with fine gold. Cascade ponds, stream, fountains, bridges, animal enclosure. ,and the Jardin des Korrigans or  Korrigans garden and the legend of the hidden treasure.  The castle per se is a B&B and not visited… With its 5 ponds, themed gardens and its sculptures, it is one of the largest private parks in Morbihan. You can discover 20 ha of landscaped park around the 14C castle. If the estate today opens the grids of its park, it is to make you live a time when History of France and Breton legend intermingle harmoniously.

The park drawn in the 19C around 1820, with its irregular alley, artificial river, waterfall, pond, pond and vegetable garden and orchard. With its 20 hectares of park, its fully furnished gardens, its ponds, streams, waterfalls, water jets, the Domaine du Château de Trédion, will make you discover over its 2 kms of aisles, its sculpture and legendary gardens, its English park, the animal enclosure. (Dwarf, donkeys, ponies). Bar and tea room in the castle. It has an irregular plan castle composed of several U-shaped buildings around a backyard. U -shaped, opening north on the water and south on the park, the castle has harmonious facades surmounted by many turrets.The two main houses are flanked by circular towers on the corners; the entrance pavilion is framed by two turrets. A tower and polygonal turrets occupy the re-entering corners of the courtyard. The building includes a basement level, a raised ground floor, a square floor and a top floor, only the back lodge has two square floors. The shell is in rubble partially coated with basement, frames of bays, balconies, horizontal bands, machicoulis, cornices and skylights in stone. The elevation is ordered, its ornamentation is neo-Gothic style.

The Castle of Trédion was built in the 1350s, the Manor of Trédion was the property of the Dukes of Brittany. From the first castle of the Middle Ages, there is only a few carved windows over the northeast part surmounted by a hug. Until the 17C, the fate of the castle was linked to that of the fortress of Largoët in Elven,(see post), and to the succession of the families of Largoët, then of Malestroit, of Rieux, of Coligny. The estate is growing with wood, rivers and mills, became a lordship in the 17C, with high and low justice. Before the French revolution, the castle belongs to the Lantivy family. The vast forests that surrounded it made it a favorite hunting rendezvous. Great names possessed over the centuries the lands of Trédion. Among them, the Malestroit, John IV of Rieux, the Marquis de Nesle, Guy Paul de Coligny, the Princess of Salm, Peter II of Sérent, Charles Fouquet in 1683, distant relative of the Intendant Nicolas Fouquet, the origin of the legend of Trédion’s treasure which would be buried at the foot of an oak tree! If the Château de Trédion knew illustrious owners during this period, it received more illustrious guests still. Originally, owned by the Cadets of Brittany who had built a hunting relay around 1360, the lands of Trédion saw several families of which are most famous: Jean IV de Rieux, Guy Paul de Coligny, the Malestroits, the Princess from Salm, Nicolas Fouquet, Charles II of Lorraine … In May 1570, Catherine de Médicis who accompanied her son in Brittany the king Charles IX, came to spend a few days there. In 1518, François 1er also stayed there. The Queen Mother Catherine de Medici  Regent of the Kingdom of France and a host of Coligny, lived at the Castle at least two weeks in  May of 1570. It is in 1834, that Hippolyte du Fresne de Virel acquires the Castle and  lands of Trédion. He established in 1840 a high furnace  for the assembly of cast iron objects, and began the transformation of the manor to make a castle. In 1851, M. du Fresne de Virel, owner of the forges and a high furnace, built the Saint Martin Church (see post) ,and restoring the castle in the neo -Gothic style, very fashionable of the time.

In 1977, the Estate is sold by the heirs of Virel to Guy Turpin , a real estate promoter  in Vannes. Since 1978, was completed the complete renovation of the domain without harming the exterior and interior architecture of the castle, as well as the total repair of the park and the creation of gardens and new waterwater rooms . The castle cannot be visited but offers the possibility of rentals in one of its 26 apartments in tourist residences, from 2 to 8 people at night or the week. Open daily from 13h30 to 17h30, It is managed  by RCI, a timeshare company. The property can now be rented for weddings and other major events. It has a wonderful beautiful restaurant!

The official Château de Trédion :  https://www.chateau-tredion.fr/

The town of Trédion on its heritage : http://www.tredion.fr/decouvrir-tredion/la-commune-de-tredion#Patrimoine%20historique

The Parks and Gardens of France on the Château de Trédion : https://www.parcsetjardins.fr/jardins/984-parc-et-jardins-du-chateau-de-tredion

There you go folks, a lovely setting great for a walk or a wedding or just relaxing in its great golf course, etc. We are glad to have it nearby, and just beautiful, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Château de Trédion ,part II as I.

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