Château de la Pervenchère

In 1430, the estate bore the name "La Pernochère" in reference to its founder Jean Pernochère. It was then a small manor house built in the midst of vast and game-rich lands. In 1774, La Pervenchère was acquired by Georges Richard de la Pervenchère (or "de le Pervanchère"), who came from a large family of shipowners from Nantes, the Richards, who beautified the castle. His son Pierre Richard de la Pervenchère became mayor of Nantes before the Revolution. In 1840, the castle reached the peak of its splendor: the sons of King Louis-Philippe often came here to participate in hunts that ended with magnificent banquets. Napoleon III is also said to have participated in hunting parties and slept in the impressive four-poster bed in the famous "ghost room". In 1965, the city of Nantes acquired the estate (which was then owned by the J.J. Mattmann family, who bred minks there and operated a factory for cleaning products, the "TIP-TOP" house) to turn it into a leisure center and seminar venue. In 1982, the French hot air balloon championships were organized there, and a year later, the world championships. Since 2004, La Pervenchère has been back in private hands, after being bought by a real estate developer who set up his offices there and rented out the castle and outbuildings for the organization of seminars and leisure activities (golf). The next owner was a Chinese businesswoman who acquired it in the mid-2010s. In February 2018, an auction was organized. The president of FC Nantes, Waldemar Kita, who wanted to move the club's professional division outside the current La Jonelière sports center, was interested in the property, but had to give up due to the cost of the project. Real estate agents won the auction to divide the property into parcels and sell it for private use. The castle is currently offered for rent by the company Ciron immobilier for seminars and events.