Château de la Rongère, Historic castle in La Roche-Neuville, France

Château de la Rongère stands about 1 km from the village of Saint-Sulpice in the Mayenne department. The present building dates from the 18th century, replacing a castle erected between 1545 and 1571. Its terraces and gardens overlook the Mayenne, and a stream feeding that river rises on the estate. The façades and roofs were inscribed as monuments historiques on 16 May 1991.

The fief of la Rongère was granted in 1239 by the lord of Laval to Jacques de Château-Gontier on his marriage to Avoise de Laval; Macé Quatrebarbes bought it in 1293 for 12,000 livres. A 15th-century lodging was replaced between 1545 and 1571 by a castle that received the Protestant Duke of Rohan without hostilities. The present building dates from the 18th century; its facades and roofs were inscribed as monuments historiques on 16 May 1991.

The name derives from H. de Rongeria, recorded in 1239, and the estate was held as a fief of Château-Gontier. The Quatrebarbes family, owners from 1293, sometimes styled themselves Marquis de la Rongère, a personal title rather than an official one. The 1675 inventory lists Flemish tapestries, a gilded leather hanging from Antwerp and 130 marks of silver.

The château stands about 1 km from the village of Saint-Sulpice, reached by a planted avenue running toward the bourg. The Mayenne river and its towpath lie below the terraces, and a stream roughly 1,000 m long rises on the property. The grounds are private; the façades and roofs have been inscribed as monuments historiques since 16 May 1991, and the park classified since 10 October 1991, so visits are best arranged in advance.

The 1778 deed names the estate "La Rongère, château, allée plantée vers le bourg", so the tree-lined avenue toward the village is documented in the 18th century. The Mayenne had a busy crossing here: the Rongère ferry and a boat port, and in 1774 a grant of 700 livres helped build the road from the ferry to the port.