Château de la Hillière

The Château de la Hillière is located in Thouaré-sur-Loire (department of Loire-Atlantique, region of Pays de la Loire) on the heights above the Loire. The origins of the site date back to the 14th century, of which only remnants of seigneurial buildings remain. The Fleuriot family, the first known owners and masters of the mint in Nantes, possessed a Renaissance residence, as attested by a stone bearing a 16th-century date. The property then passed to the Sorin family and subsequently to the Du Guiny family. François Marie du Guiny had the present château built around 1784–1786 by the architect Jean-Baptiste Ceineray in the neoclassical style. During the Revolution it was sold as national property. It later belonged, among others, to the Métois, Amieux (1912–1932; Jean-Maurice Amieux founded the Amieux cannery) and de Yrigoyen families (of Spanish origin). Since 1952 it has been owned by the Community of the Frères de Saint-Gabriel. The château stands in a park of about eight hectares with landscaped gardens. The façade features a semi-circular central projection with a circular perron; the ground floor is the noble storey with large rectangular windows, the upper floor has smaller windows, and the roof has dormer windows. Corner pilasters with refends articulate the façade. A small chapel of 1786 dedicated to the Virgin Mary forms part of the estate. It is not protected as a Monument Historique. The château now serves as a residence for the Frères de Saint-Gabriel; the EHPAD Maison Saint-Gabriel La Hillière (opened in 1976) is located on the site. It is used for retreats and meetings and is occasionally partially open to the public during the Journées du Patrimoine.