Château de La Haye, Medieval castle in Saint-Hilaire-des-Landes, France.
Château de La Haye is a stone complex arranged around a square courtyard, with a main residence in the southeast, a pavilion, outbuildings to the west and a chapel dedicated to the Holy Family in the northeast corner. A 13th-century round tower stands in the middle of the courtyard. Moats surround the site, and a bridge and gateway mark the main entrance.
The castle was founded in the 13th century and took much of its current form during major renovations between 1600 and 1620. Despite these early modern transformations, medieval features from earlier times remained and are still visible in the structure.
The chapel in the northeast corner of the courtyard is dedicated to the Holy Family. The castle has belonged to the La Haye Saint-Hilaire family since its origins; during the French Revolution, brothers Louis and Édouard de La Haye-Saint-Hilaire took part in the Chouannerie.
The castle sits southwest of the village near the D18 road connecting Saint-Hilaire-des-Landes to Saint-Sauveur-des-Landes and is easy to locate. The water-filled moats are part of the site and can affect access, so expect uneven ground and potentially wet conditions around the perimeter.
In 2019 the heirs of Count Lionel de La Haye Saint-Hilaire, who died in March 2016, put the castle up for sale, so the family's long tenure ended with a sale rather than a change of residence. During the French Revolution, brothers Louis and Édouard de La Haye-Saint-Hilaire took part in the Chouannerie, the royalist uprising in Brittany.
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