Photo : David Merrett from Daventry, England / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Château de Courtanvaux
The Château de Courtanvaux, at Bessé-sur-Braye, on the border of the Sarthe and the Loir-et-Cher, stands in the centre of a 68-hectare park. It passed to the Souvré family, who made it a marquisate, then to François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, minister of Louis XIV, through his marriage to Anne de Souvré. After 1691 it remained uninhabited until 1815.
In 1780 the heiress, Louise Charlotte Le Tellier, married Count Pierre de Montesquiou-Fezensac. Nicknamed 'Maman Quiou', she was governess to the King of Rome, Napoleon's son. The couple retired here in 1815 and had the building restored in a marked neo-Gothic style.
The commune completed its purchase of the estate in 1978 to open it to the public. The site has been protected since 1975 and several elements are listed as historic monuments. The park is open freely; the interior can be visited in season with a guide. Exhibitions and concerts are held there.
