Château de Mailleberchie

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Mailleberchie, at Villebois-Lavalette (Charente), occupies a strategic frontier position between Angoumois and Périgord, fortified as early as the 1300s as an outpost of the Duchy of La Valette. Given as a dowry in 1586 to Jean de Villedon, it remained in that family throughout the 17th century. Acquired in the second half of the 18th century by Henri and Jean de Blanc-Fontenille, it was rebuilt in Neo-Medieval style by the architect Paul Abadie – also the architect of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris – with work extending from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. Frequented before the First World War by Europe's intellectual elite, it served as a German military command post during the Second World War, before falling into decline and then undergoing a restoration begun in 2012. Today it serves as a private residence and retreat for its owners and those close to them, as well as a community centre for the Triratna Buddhist Community, devoted to translation and spiritual development; its historic gardens and orchards produce flowers and food for the château.