The castle Flers is located on the town of the same name, in the department of Orne, 30 km southeast of Vire.
First house strong stone and half-timbering erected in the Middle Ages on a marshy terrain difficult to cross for the attackers, the castle itself is built in the early sixteenth century by Nicolas Grosparmy. It remains from this period the wing "East", with turrets corner. The domain then becomes possession of the family of Pellevé, which allies with the rich Breton family of Rohan.
Erected seat of a county, the castle is embellished at the XVIIe century: a park is done up, the construction of a mill and the creation of a pond which allowed to drain the grounds.
In the eighteenth century, new works expand the castle whose wing "west" becomes the main building. A classic facade is created, with a monumental perron, and a beautifully wrought iron gate opens access to the main courtyard. Inside, the building is also decorated and furnished with opulence.
Damaged during the Vendée troubles, the castle was bought in 1806 by a businessman who sold it in 1822 to Antoine Schnetz, a notary from Paris, who soon became mayor of the city. Thanks to him, part of the park is open to the public and other urbanized lands. In 1901, the town became the owner of the site.
Protected as historical monuments since 1907, the castle of Flers has housed since the early twentieth century a museum that evokes the history of the estate and presents many paintings of the nineteenth (paintings by Corot, Daubigny, Boudin, Caillebotte) but also bronzes of Rousaud (pupil of Rodin) and ceramics of Cocteau (twentieth). As for the presented furniture, it is of Louis XIV style. Open from May to November. Entry: 3 euros. Information on +33 2 33 64 66 49.
As for the vast park of 13 hectares, punctuated with parts of water, it is conducive to the walk and the observation of an interesting ornithological fauna. Many tree species are visible (cedar, beech, plane, poplar, yew, elm...). Free access all year.
