The Château du Plessis-Mace is a medieval building from the Middle Ages and rebuilt in the early Renaissance. This castle is located in the town of Plessis-Mace, about ten kilometers north of Angers. The Château du Plessis-Mace is the subject of a classification as historical monuments since 14 May 1962 and the site is ranked 24 February 1987.
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Château du Plessis-Macé

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Château du Plessis-Bourré is a château in the Loire Valley in France, situated in the commune of Écuillé in the Maine-et-Loire department. Built in less than 5 years from 1468 to 1472 by Finance Minister Jean Bourré, the principal advisor to King Louis XI. The château has not been modified externally since its construction and still has a fully working drawbridge. It was classified as a Monument historique in 1931.
The château was purchased in 1911 by Henry Vaïsse who, when he died in 1956, bequeathed it to his nephew, François Reille-Soult, Duke of Dalmatie, descendant of the marshals of the French empire Soult, Reille and Masséna.
In 1978, Antoinette de Ferrières de Sauvebœuf, born de Croix, granddaughter of the Duke of Dalmatie, and her spouse Bruno de Ferrières de Sauvebœuf took the responsibility of heading the renovation and maintenance of the château until 2009. They lived there with their three children, Victor (1976), Matthias (1978), and Jean-Baptiste (1980), for 31 years, the longest stay of a single family since 1473.
Since 2010, it has been inhabited by descendants of François Reille-Soult of Dalmatie and managed by Aymeric d'Anthenaise and Jean-François Reille-Soult de Dalmatie.
The Château du Plessis-Bourré has been the location for numerous films, including:
Peau d'Âne (1970) by Jacques Demy
Louis XI by J.C. Lubtchansky
Jeanne d'Arc (1989 telefilm) by Pierre Badel
Le Bossu (1997) by Philippe de Broca
Fanfan la Tulipe (2003) by Gérard Krawczyk
La Reine et le Cardinal (telefilm)
The Princess of Montpensier (2009) by Bertrand Tavernier
Louis XI, Le Pouvoir Fracassé (2010) by Henri Helman with Jacques Perrin

Château du Plessis-Bourré

The Château d'Angers is a castle in the city of Angers in the Loire Valley, in the département of Maine-et-Loire, in France. Founded in the 9th century by the Counts of Anjou, it was expanded to its current size in the 13th century. It is located overhanging the river Maine. It is a listed historical monument since 1875. Now open to the public, the Château d'Angers is home of the Apocalypse Tapestry.
Originally, the Château d'Angers was built as a fortress at a site inhabited by the Romans because of its strategic defensive location.
In the 9th century, the Bishop of Angers gave the Counts of Anjou permission to build a castle in Angers. The construction of the first castle begun under Count Fulk III (970–1040), celebrated for his construction of dozens of castles, who built it to protect Anjou from the Normans. It became part of the Angevin Empire of the Plantagenet Kings of England during the 12th century. In 1204, the region was conquered by Philip II and the new castle was constructed during the minority of his grandson, Louis IX ("Saint Louis") in the early part of the 13th century. Louis IX rebuilt the castle in whitestone and black slate, with 17 semicircular towers. The construction undertaken in 1234 cost 4,422 livres, roughly one per cent of the estimated royal revenue at the time. Louis gave the castle to his brother, Charles in 1246.
In 1352, King John II le Bon, gave the castle to his second son, Louis who later became count of Anjou. Married to the daughter of the wealthy Duke of Brittany, Louis had the castle modified, and in 1373 commissioned the famous Apocalypse Tapestry from the painter Hennequin de Bruges and the Parisian tapestry-weaver Nicolas Bataille. Louis II (Louis I's son) and Yolande d'Aragon added a chapel (1405–12) and royal apartments to the complex. The chapel is a sainte chapelle, the name given to churches which enshrined a relic of the Passion. The relic at Angers was a splinter of the fragment of the True Cross which had been acquired by Louis IX.
In the early 15th century, the hapless dauphin who, with the assistance of Joan of Arc would become King Charles VII, had to flee Paris and was given sanctuary at the Château d' Angers.
In 1562, Catherine de' Medici had the castle restored as a powerful fortress, but, her son, Henry III, reduced the height of the towers and had the towers and walls stripped of their embattlements; Henry III used the castle stones to build streets and develop the village of Angers. Nonetheless, under threat of attacks from the Huguenots, the king maintained the castle's defensive capabilities by making it a military outpost and by installing artillery on the château's upper terraces. At the end of the 18th century, as a military garrison, it showed its worth when its thick walls withstood a massive bombardment by cannons from the Vendean army. Unable to do anything else, the invaders simply gave up.
A military academy was established in the castle to train young officers in the strategies of war. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, best known for taking part in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo, was trained at the Military Academy of Angers. The academy was moved to Saumur and the castle was used for the rest of the 19th century as a prison, powder magazine, and barracks.
Modern
The castle continued to be used as an armory through the First and Second World Wars. It was severely damaged during World War II by the Nazis when an ammunition storage dump inside the castle exploded.
On 10 January 2009, the castle suffered severe damage from an accidental fire due to short-circuiting. The Royal Logis, which contains old tomes and administrative offices, was the most heavily damaged part of the chateau, resulting in 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) of the roof being completely burnt. The Tapestries of the Apocalypse were not damaged. Total damages have been estimated at 2 million Euros. According to Christine Albanel, the Minister of Culture, the expected date of completion for the restoration was the second trimester of 2009.
Today, owned by the City of Angers, the massive, austere castle has been converted to a museum housing the oldest and largest collection of medieval tapestries in the world, with the 14th-century "Apocalypse Tapestry" as one of its priceless treasures. As a tribute to its fortitude, the castle has never been taken by any invading force in history.

Château d'Angers

The Château de Serrant is a Renaissance château situated in the Loire Valley, the private residence of the Prince of Merode. The castle is 15 kilometres to the west of Angers, it is open to visitors.
History
The Renaissance château is built on the foundations of a medieval fortress. From the 14th century the castle was held by the Brie family. Charles de Brie was inspired to start modernisation early in the 16th century, but lack of funds meant the project was halted with only the North Tower completed. Ownership of the castle then changed hands several times before Guillaume de Bautru, a State Councillor, purchased the property in 1636. de Bautru restarted the construction that had been halted over a century earlier. By using Charles de Brie's original plans and the same russet schist and white tuffeau stone, de Bautru ensured that there was a continuity of design. The central halls, two wings and the South Tower were added, with Jules Hardouin Mansart completing the work of de Bautru by building the chapel.
In 1749, the estate was sold by the last surviving descendant of the de Bautru family and was bought by Antoine Walsh, a shipowner whose family were exiled Jacobites. As well as redecorating the interior of the castle, the Walsh family built an English style park, pavilions, and a monumental gate complete with the family crest.
de Merode de La Tremoille
The château eventually passed out of the hands of the Walsh family in 1830 when "Valentine Eugénie Joséphine Walsh de Serrant" married the Duc de La Trémoïlle (1764–1839). La Trémoïlle assigned Luciene Magne the task of restoring the castle and several features, including parapets and cornices, were added. The La Trémoïlle family still own the château, but in the 20th century it has been modernised with cellars and the introduction of electricity.
The current owner is are the descendants of Jean Charles, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1911-2005), his daughter is Princesse of Merode by marriage and they are the parents of prince Emmanuel de Merode. The castle is notable for the library, stocked with 12,000 books; the vaulted halls, originally home to the kitchens; and Napoleon's bedroom, which was never used by the Emperor as he stayed at the castle for only two hours.

Château de Serrant

The Chateau de Pignerolle is located to the east of Angers in the commune of Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou in the department of Maine-et-Loire in France.
Construction
Constructed in 1776 for the director of the equestrian academy in Angers, Marcel Avril de Pignerolle. Built in a neo-classic style with a four column frontage, it is 25m by 17m and lies in a park of 80 hectares.
History
1939–1940
On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. On 2 September, the 125th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed at Pignerolle before going to fight on the Moselle. The Chateau was requisitioned by the Polish government-in-exile. The Polish General Staff settled into the Chateau. Władysław Raczkiewicz became Polish President in Exile on 30 September 1939 and lived at the Chateau of Pignerolles from 2 December 1939.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Polish cryptologists, including Marian Rejewski were evacuated to France, where they continued breaking Enigma-enciphered messages working with the French and British code breakers. The Polish Government in Exile were located in nearby Angers.
The battle for France which began on 10 May 1940 with the invasion of the low countries concluded on 22 June 1940. At the time there were numerous Polish military units in France by June 1940, with Polish personnel in the country totaling 80,000 men. The staff from Pignerolle were amongst the 24,352 Polish personnel evacuated as part of Operation Ariel to Great Britain before the Chateau was captured on 19 June and was requisitioned by the Wehrmacht on 8 July. The Polish cryptologists and their support staff resumed work undercover a few months later in Vichy France until the end of 1942.
1942–1944
Following the St Nazaire Raid on 28 March 1942 the German Navy, the commander of the Kriegsmarine, Erich Raeder decided the risk to certain units of seaborne attack was high and decided to relocate the western command centre for U-boats to Pignerolle.
The Chateau was chosen as it was far enough from the sea to be safe, whilst the radio communications in the area were good as the land was very flat.
Construction began on a command bunker, the same plans were used for the late 1943 bunker Koralle located in Germany 30 km from Berlin, it is three contiguous bunkers, with its 3m think roof it covers 1,500 sq m, being 34m by 56m in size. With ten other concrete constructions and thirty wooden barracks being completed by 600 Organisation Todt workers starting in April 1942 and finishing in May 1943.
The part buried main command bunker had teletype communications as well as 16 aerial masts on its roof to transmit and receive enigma coded messages with submarines in the Atlantic.
In Jul 1942 Hans-Rudolf Rösing was appointed as FdU West (Führer der Unterseeboote West) Pignerolle became his headquarters. He was responsible for the eight flotillas of boats committed to the Battle of the Atlantic, and thus a great majority of the entire U-boat fleet until autumn 1944. In February 1943 he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän, and one month later to Kapitän zur See.
On 30 January 1943 Doenitz was appointed Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine in place of Grossadmiral Raeder. He visited the Chateau on a number of occasions including August 1943.
All communications with U-Boats in the Atlantic were routed from Berlin through the Pignerolle command and communications centre.
The park was used by up to 1,000 German submariners for rest, relaxation and training purposes. In case of an air raid, the men could shelter in bunkers that were designed as two story above ground air raid shelters. A 133m tunnel was constructed from the Chateau to the command bunker. The bunkers around the Chateau do not conform to the standardized Regelbau system. The Chateau received submariner visitors from Italy and Japan during 1944.
The Germans departed on 9 August 1944, setting fire to the equipment in the main bunker.
There is little evidence of aerial attacks on Pigerolle, possible because of the importance of intercepting enigma coded messages to submarines that could be decoded. On average 31 boats operated in any one month and of those, 16–17 disappeared per month, in total, 371 U-Boats were lost in the Battle of the Atlantic almost all whilst commanded from Pignerolle.
1945-date
The barracks were used firstly by US troops then as a repatriation center until in January 1946 it housed 1,000 displaced people whose homes had been destroyed during the war, they continued in use until 1964. Listed as a national monument in 1961.
The command bunker was taken over by the French government as a reserve nuclear fallout center for President Charles de Gaulle during the Cold War era, moving to the ownership of the French Government in 1964. It is still not accessible to the public although several of the other bunkers have been opened to public viewing on occasions.
Acquired by Angers in 1971, the park, gardens and Chateau were restored over the next 20 years.
From 1992 until it closed in 2015 the Chateau was a museum dedicated to European communications from prehistoric times until the 20th-century.
The gardens remain open to the public and occasional events are held in the park.

Château de Pignerolle

Chateau du Pin architectural history spans many centuries. The main wing was built in the late 15th century, during the reign of King François Premier. The chapel and other additions were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is believed that the foundation of the central square tower dates back to the 12th century. In 1922, Gerard and Claudine Gignoux acquired the chateau and raised their family there. Gerard created the extraordinary topiary gardens and oversaw Le Pin's farms and vineyards. Claudine, a skilled landscape painter, produced the fine murals for the chateau inspired by the local countryside. Le Pin consists of approximately 300 acres of farmland, woodlands with walking trails, vineyards, formal gardens, topiary, and a chapel. Le Pin is classified as a “Monument Historique” and the gardens have earned the “Des Jardins Remarquables” designation by the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.

The main wing of the chateau is available for rent to families and groups who wish to enjoy the romance and magic of Le Pin, the Loire Valley, and the surrounding countryside. Today, the children and grandchildren jointly own and manage the chateau.

http://chateaudupinloire.com/