Château de Boistissandeau, Historic castle in Les Herbiers, France

Château de Boistissandeau is a long, light-gray stone building with a dark slate roof, built in 1578 at Les Herbiers, south of Ardelay in the Vendée. Its central block is flanked by two lower wings, and the main roof has a steep central section topped by a small cupola, with tall chimneys at the ridge. To the right, a separate wing connects to a round tower capped by a dark, domed lantern. An iron fence runs in front of the building, and a paved path leads toward the facade.

Built in 1578, the château was acquired in June 2003 by the Vendée department. On 31 January 1794, five hussars killed the chatelaine Marie Agathe d'Hillerin and her two daughters, Henriette and Agathe, during the Vendée Terror; one daughter was shot by the main door, the other opposite the chapel door, which still bears bullet marks. The Brothers of Saint-Gabriel later lived here, running a novitiate from 1942 and a retirement home from 1970.

In the 18th century the naturalist René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur stayed here repeatedly with the owner Jean-Baptiste-Laurent d'Hillerin (1704-1779), himself a scientific figure. The estate thus hosted exchanges between two men of science rather than court-based research.

The château stands south of Ardelay, in the commune of Les Herbiers, reached by road from the town; an iron fence and a paved path lead toward the facade. The building is now a residential centre for disabled people and their families, so the grounds are not a public visiting site. The left wing remains under renovation.

The five hussars who killed Marie Agathe d'Hillerin and her daughters on 31 January 1794 left bullet marks on the door of La Chapelle, which the source says are still visible today. The mountoir, the mounting block where the killings began, also survives on the grounds.