Chateau de Brissac

Brissac reaches seven storeys and around two hundred rooms, which makes it the tallest chateau in France, and it looks odd because it is unfinished: a duke began replacing a fifteenth-century fortress in 1606, died before the work was done, and the two medieval towers were left standing beside the new Baroque block they were meant to replace. The family has held it since 1502 and lives there still, so the rooms are furnished and lived in rather than museum-set. A small private theatre was built inside in 1883 for a family member who sang opera, and it seats about two hundred. The estate produces Anjou wine.

History

The first castle was built by the Counts of Anjou in the 11th century; Philip Augustus gave it to Guillaume des Roches, and in the 15th century it was rebuilt by Pierre de Brézé, chief minister of Charles VII. Under Francis I it was acquired by René de Cossé, governor of Anjou and Maine, and after the Wars of Religion, in which Charles II de Cossé sided with Henry of Navarre, the king made him Duke of Brissac and gave him money to rebuild the badly damaged castle in 1611, the work that made it the tallest château in France. In August 1620 Louis XIII and his mother Marie de Medici met here to settle their quarrel in a short-lived truce. The château was ransacked during the Revolution in 1792 and lay neglected until the Dukes of Brissac began restoring it in 1844 (Wikipedia, Château de Brissac).

What to look for

• The unfinished join - medieval towers left beside the newer Baroque block.
• The furnished rooms - a lived-in house with family tapestries and portraits.
• The private theatre - a Belle Epoque opera room built in 1883.
• The estate wine - Anjou vineyards with tasting in the cellars.

When to go

April to October; the chateau closes for winter apart from event dates. Visits are guided at set times. Concerts run in the theatre through the season.

Good to know

Entry is by guided tour only and normally in French, with printed English notes. Because the family lives here, parts are closed. The theatre is included only on some visits.

Nearby

Angers lies north; the Loire vineyards surround the village.

Key facts