En un regard
Le château en bref
In Mazé, in the heart of Anjou, Montgeoffroy Castle is one of the rare late eighteenth-century buildings to have come down through the centuries with its original décor, furniture and archives intact. The de Contades family acquired the estate in 1676. In 1772, Marshal Louis Georges Érasme de Contades decided to make it his retirement home and entrusted the rebuilding to the Parisian architect Barré, assisted by the local master builder Simier; the work was completed in 1776. The new château retained the U-shaped plan of the earlier building, its two towers, its moats and its chapel dating from 1543. It contains six state rooms and some twenty apartments, including an oval dining room and a grand staircase, furnished by the master cabinetmakers Gourdin, Garnier, Durand and Roussel. Spared by the Revolution and the Vendée wars, the estate has been largely listed as a historic monument since 8 October 1984. It served as the setting for the television film Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard in 1966. A private property, it is open to visitors.