Château du Pont-Hus, Heritage castle in Petit-Mars, France

The Château du Pont-Hus in Petit-Mars is a pale grey stone building with symmetrical rows of tall windows under a steep dark slate roof, slender chimneys and small dormer windows. Its central section projects slightly, flanked by two short wings, with a lower annex at the left rear. A gravel forecourt and a formal lawn with a stone-edged basin lie in front.

A fortress stood at this location from 1070 onward, but the original structure was demolished in 1622 during a period of regional conflict. Marquis Amaury de Goyon rebuilt the site in 1773, creating the classical structures that remain today.

The stud farm Haras de Hus was founded here in 2004, on an estate that passed by inheritance to the de Charette family at the start of the 20th century. The name Pont-Hus comes from Hus de La Muse, who built a fortress here in the 13th century.

The château stands in the commune of Petit-Mars in Loire-Atlantique, not on the Erdre; the Erdre riverside and the Portail de fer belong to other sites. Approach it from the roads of Petit-Mars, where the gravel forecourt, the formal lawn and the stone-edged basin in front of the main block can be seen from outside. The estate now houses the Haras de Hus, so the grounds are a working stud farm rather than an open park.

In 1793, fighting between Republicans and Chouans took place at the château, which was partly burned during the clashes. The building visible today is the reconstruction ordered by Marquis Amaury de Goyon in 1773, so the Revolution damage came only two decades after it was rebuilt.