Château Levat, 18th-century castle in Montpellier, France.
Château Levat is a Montpellier folly at 44 avenue Saint-Lazare, built on broad terraces reached by four steps. It has a garden-level floor and one upper floor under a low-pitched roof of curved tiles, with eight openings per floor; the three central ones below are round-arched French doors. The lower level is faced in ashlar with recessed joints, and the salons keep plasterwork with overdoors after La Fontaine's Fables.
Jean David Levat, a merchant from Montpellier, commissioned this building between 1763 and 1764, marking the rise of merchant residences in the city. This period reflected the growing prosperity and social ascent of the trading elite during the 18th century.
Inside, the salons keep their 18th-century plasterwork, and the overdoor panels depict scenes drawn from La Fontaine's Fables. The building is a folie, the Montpellier term for a merchant's country house, and it takes its name from Jean-David Levat, the merchant who had it built in 1763-1764.
The building is located on Avenue Saint-Lazare and has housed an architectural firm since 2022. Public visits are not possible as it functions as a private office building.
The 1944 listing covers not only the château but also its two side terraces, the rear terrace and the wrought-iron balconies of the main and side facades. The protection was granted on 12 April 1944, while the German occupation of France was still under way.
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