Château de la Mercerie

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de la Mercerie, nicknamed the “Versailles of the Charente”, owes its scale to the brothers Raymond Réthoré (industrialist and Gaullist deputy) and Alphonse Réthoré (self-taught architect), who bought the 600-hectare estate in 1924 and, from 1939, undertook an Italian Renaissance façade 220 metres wide inspired by the Château de Bizy. Work was halted in 1970 for lack of funding, leaving the building unfinished; it is remarkable for its sumptuous collections of furniture, paintings and sculptures, partly acquired from sales of the heritage of the Dukes of La Rochefoucauld.