Montivert Castle is located in the former commune of Vieil-Baugé, now part of Baugé-en-Anjou, in Maine-et-Loire, 20 km south-east of Durtal.
Located a few kilometers south-west of the town of Baugé, it was built in 1895 to replace an old building that served as a stone quarry.
The owner was then Charles Renouf du Breil, a lawyer in Angers, who called on the architect Louis-Henri Laffilée. The specifications consisted in putting into shape the ideas of the sponsor who wished to highlight and decline according to the pieces his memories or ideas acquired over numerous stays abroad, particularly in the Mediterranean basin.
The ensemble thus presents a neo-Gothic style with original touches: for example, the maxim "post intimatera, quies" (after travels, rest) is engraved on a balcony and Charles du Breil had affixed in a stairwell a large glass roof depicting a ship leaving a distant city. At the bottom are inscribed the verses: "Happy who, like Ulysses, had a nice trip..."
Overall, however, although disparate, the large building also evokes the Angevin residences of the time of King René (15th century).
Furthermore, the interior decorations are full of moldings brought back from travels and trinkets or exotic works.
The ensemble is now listed in the Inventory, and in the park, some vestiges of the medieval fortified house remain.
The property, which is still private, is open to visitors during Heritage Days.
Failing that, the exteriors and the silhouette of this astonishing castle can mark out a walk…
Information on +33 2 41 84 12 12.