Château de la Haichois
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de la Haichois, located in Mordelles (Département 35), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Mordelles, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0732, -1.8253
- Mérimée Reference
- PA35000030
Built in 1888 by the architect Ambroise Baudry for the uncle of the painter Toulouse-Lautrec, this Breton château blends eclectic elegance with refined orientalism, in landscaped grounds that include a 17th-century chapel.
History
In the heart of the Breton bocage, a few kilometres from Rennes, Château de la Haichois stands in its landscaped grounds like an architectural manifesto from the late 19th century. Commissioned by Count Odon de Toulouse-Lautrec - uncle of the famous painter - from Parisian architect Ambroise Baudry, the building combines the rigour of a composed plan with the formal freedom characteristic of Victorian eclecticism. Its asymmetrical silhouette, punctuated by projecting pavilions, a circular tower and a polygonal forebuilding, gives it an immediate singularity in the landscape. What makes the Haichois truly unique is the superposition of two eras in one place. The carved wooden panelling dating from 1675, left over from the old manor house that occupied the site, silently converses with the modernity of the new building. This continuity of memory, intended by the client, bears witness to the aristocratic respect for transmission and family roots. Turning a corner room, the discerning visitor discovers the château's most precious surprise: a smoking room with orientalist decoration, the only surviving evidence of Ambroise Baudry's talent as a colourist. The architect, who spent a long time in Cairo, transposed here the arabesques and play of colours of a dreamed-of Orient, creating an intimate and sumptuous cabinet of curiosities. In addition to the main building, the estate features a complete programme of buildings: a carefully preserved chapel and dovecote dating from 1680, stables, farm and walled kitchen garden. The landscaped grounds, which were redesigned to coincide with the building works, offer carefully crafted perspectives in which the mass of vegetation frames the architecture like a painting. La Haichois is more than a château: it is an intact aristocratic country estate, a living testimony to the life of the provincial nobility under the Third Republic.
Architecture
Château de la Haichois belongs to the eclectic movement of the late 19th century, which drew freely on medieval, Renaissance and picturesque repertoires to create buildings with a strong personality. Its deliberately asymmetrical plan is one of its most striking features: the rectangular main body is enriched by several projecting pavilions on the façade, a polygonal forebuilding on the south side and a circular tower on the east side, creating a lively, picturesque silhouette typical of Victorian taste. This asymmetrical composition, inherited from English neo-Gothic manor houses, contrasts with the classical rigour that still dominated official French architecture at the time. The interior is richly decorated. Seventeenth-century carved wood panelling, salvaged from the former manor house in 1680 and probably executed by craftsmen from Brittany or Normandy, lines some of the ceremonial rooms, giving the spaces a patina and historical depth that new construction alone could not have provided. The most precious feature, however, is the oriental smoking room: Ambroise Baudry, inspired by his years in Egypt, used a decorative programme inspired by the houses of Cairo's notables - moucharabiehs, polychrome arabesques and intense colour schemes - turning this small room into an Oriental cabinet in the heart of Brittany. The built estate extends well beyond the château itself: the chapel and the dovecote dating from 1680, the stables, the farm and the walled kitchen garden form a coherent and complete ensemble, representative of the organisation of a large Breton aristocratic country estate. The landscaped grounds, which were redesigned when the château was built in 1888, frame the ensemble of skilfully orchestrated plant masses.
Related Figures
Odon de Toulouse-Lautrec — comte, commanditaire du château en 1888, oncle du peintre Henri de Toulouse-LautrecAmbroise Baudry — architecte des Beaux-Arts, concepteur du château, ancien résident au CaireHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec — peintre et affichiste, neveu du commanditaire, lié au domaine familialFamille de Toulouse-Lautrec — ancienne famille de la noblesse française, propriétaire du domaine au XIXe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de la Haichois located?
Château de la Haichois is located in Mordelles, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Château de la Haichois built?
Château de la Haichois dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Château de la Haichois open to visitors?
Château de la Haichois is currently closed to visitors.
