Château de Bionne, Historic castle in Montpellier, France.
The Château de Bionne displays late 17th-century architecture with distinctive Mansard roofing, comprising a main building flanked by two shorter wings and featuring a preserved grotto-fountain beneath its terrace.
Originally built in the late 17th century as Château de Mont-Louis, the castle belonged to Nicolas de Lamoignon de Basville, intendant of justice under Louis XIV, who maintained a secret liaison with Gabrielle Pavée de Villevieille there.
The castle served as a vacation colony managed by the Friends of Secular School association, later became Montpellier's first abortion center, and inspired painter Frédéric Bazille's 1868 vineyard paintings.
Located at 1225 rue de Bionne in western Montpellier, the castle now operates as a hotel-château offering accommodation while preserving its historical architectural elements for visitors.
The grotto-fountain preserved beneath the terrace likely dates from the time of Nicolas de Basville, around the turn of the 18th century. It is one of the few surviving elements from the estate's earliest phase, since late 19th- and early 20th-century alterations changed the building's original appearance.
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