Vimer Castle is located in the town of Guerquesalles, in the department of Orne, 14 km south-east of Livarot.
In the heart of the Pays d'Auge, located to the east of the small town, it was originally a simple hunting lodge in the 17th century. During the first half of the 18th century, it was built by Louis François de Nolet, lord of Malvoue and Vimer, the family arms still visible on a hob now kept in the farm of the estate.
Composed of a central body with two back wings, the property was acquired in 1774 by René de Chaze and in 1815, General Watier, Count of Saint-Alphonse, found refuge there at the fall of the Empire. He had restoration work carried out and a chapel built.
From 1897 to 1903, Baron de Mackau called on Parisian architects to restore the chapel and modernize the facades on the "west" side. A few years later, the facades were all unified (via facings) and a new body of building was added, housing the library and the dining room.
Finally, still at the beginning of the 20th century, Anglo-Norman style outbuildings were fitted out.
The castle, listed in the Inventory, is also known to have been transformed into a hospital during the bombings of 1944. Up to 600 wounded were treated there.
In addition to the stone, brick and half-timbered building, the park designed by the landscape architect Bühler in 1840 is included in the pre-inventory of remarkable gardens.
The property is still private but its exteriors are occasionally open to the public. The domain can also mark out a walk within a bucolic environment at will.
Information on +33 2 33 39 24 76 or +33 2 33 67 49 42.
