Château de Thouaré

Thouaré Castle in its current form dates from the 14th century. It is located in a large, green park with century-old trees and is built in two wings, with a Renaissance lantern tower. The facade consists of elements from various eras, including battlements from the Middle Ages. Outbuildings and stables are also adjacent. The moats date from the 10th century. The windows are bipartite and date from the second half of the 19th century. The stone and tuff pigeon house dates from the 15th century, its slate dome is crowned with a sculpture of a pigeon and contains 1,189 niches, once a symbol of the power of the lords of the place. The castle is privately owned and cannot be visited, but can be rented for private events. The pigeon house is open for viewing in some years during the European Heritage Days.

The site of the castle seems to have always been inhabited since the Bronze Age, its location on the banks of the Loire is a strategic place. The original castle, an old feudal castle, was built in the 10th century, possibly on the remains of an old Gallo-Roman villa, and at that time belonged to the Duchy of Brittany. The castle and the lordship of Thouaré are said to have been founded in 1254 by the knight Guillaume de Thouaré, Lord of La Motte, under the direction of the Diocese of Nantes. In the Middle Ages, the town of Thouaré was concentrated around the castle, the castle chapel became the first church of Saint-Vincent de Thouaré to accommodate its parishioners, before being moved to the present center for demographic reasons. The residences and the presbytery were adjacent to it, a central street separated the castle and the church from the neighboring residences. The monument was registered as a historical monument in 1982.

Guillaume de Thouaré, knight and lord of La Motte, 1254; Jeanne d'Ussé or d'Ucé de Tourraine (1378), who brought the castellany to her husband Briant IV de Montjean through her marriage in 1343; Gilles d'Elbiest, Flemish knight in the service of Jean V, who is said to have received the castle in 1393 in recognition of services rendered. The transfer was made to Gilles' children, who died without descendants. It was Marguerite d'Elbiest, the paternal aunt, who became the heiress (1505) and transferred the castellany to the Saint-Amadour family by marrying Jean de Saint-Amadour (family from La Selle-Craonnaise), Lord of Lisé; Jean de Saint-Amadour (or de Saint-Amator), knight of Charles VIII, received the lordship of Guignen in the viscounty in 1519 and transferred Thouaré Castle to his daughter, Phillipe de Saint-Amadour. Philippe married Charles de Bretagne, Count of Vertus and Baron of Avaugour. Their daughter, Antoinette de Bretagne, received the lordship as an inheritance, married Pierre d'Escoubleau de Sourdis and in turn transferred it to her daughter Anne d'Escoubleau, wife of François de Simiane, Marquis de Gordes. Anne d'Escoubleau sold the lordship in 1657 to Anne Descartes, widow of Louis d'Avaugour; Anne Descartes, half-sister of the philosopher René Descartes, widow of Louis d'Avaugour, paid homage to the king for Thouaré on January 13, 1673. Anne sold the castle in 1704 to the Mosnier family; Joseph Mosnier de Thouaré, Sieur de la Valtière, Maître at the Chamber of Accounts of Brittany, and his wife Marie Langlois, paid homage to the king for the castle in 1713. Jacques Mosnier, Lord of Thouaré and son of Joseph Mosnier, transferred the castle in 1774 to his son Louis Mosnier. During the Revolution, as Louis Mosnier was dead and his children had emigrated, the castle was plundered in 1792. After the Revolution, Louis Mosnier's widow, Geneviève Bougrenet, recovered it after it had been sold as national property, and sold it to the Cézard family; Nicolas Sigisbert Cézard, industrialist and shipowner from Nancy, owner of the Launay and Chantenay refineries, acquired the castle in 1864 or 1873. The Cézard family, bankrupt, sold the castle in 1880; the Mathieu de Vienne family acquired the castle in 1882.

From January 24, 1564, to May 1, 1566, King Charles IX undertook a grand tour of France. During this journey, the king stopped at Thouaré Castle on October 11, 1565, where he was received for dinner by Charles de Bretagne d'Avaugour and his wife Philippe de Saint-Amadour. The king then traveled to Nantes, to the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany, where he was to stay for three days.