The castle of La Brède, located 20 Km (16 miles) south of Bordeaux, is an exceptional historical, architectural and natural site. This site, open to visitors for the past fifty years, has been listed as a Historical Monument since 1951.
A bit of History
The castle's construction began in 1306 upon the ruins of an earlier edifice. Remodelled from the Renaissance on, it has conserved the character of a fortress, with its atypical polygonal shape, which is reflected in the waters of the surrounding wide moats. The castle is accessible by three drawbridges, which today have been replaced by three wooded walkways allowing one to cross the carp-filled moats.
The Castle's Owners
Until the XVIIth century the domain was held successively by the La Lande, l'Isle and Pesnel families. In 1686, it became property of the Secondat family following the marriage of Marie-Françoise de Pesnel to Jacques de Secondat (Montesquieu's father). The Countess Jacqueline de Chabannes, descendant of Denise, the youngest daughter of Montesquieu, lived in the Castle of La Brède until her passing in 2004. Without heirs, she wished that the domain remain open to the public and to this end created the Jacqueline de Chabannes Foundation, in order to preserve and share this patrimony.
The residence of Montesquieu
It is here in this castle, on January 18 1689, that Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède and of Montesquieu, more commonly known as Montesquieu, was born. Quite attached to the family castle of La Brède, Montesquieu regularly stayed here. He found, in this peaceful setting, the happiness of a simple lifestyle and an environment that stimulated his reflection and writing. Montesquieu spent many hours in his room, where he edited part of his text "The Spirit of the Laws" (l'Esprit de Lois), and in the library. This 216 square meter vaulted room holds several thousand works from Montesquieu's era. In 1994, the Countess Jacqueline de Chabannes made a grant to the municipal library of Bordeaux of the totality of the manuscripts and works still conserved in the library, in order to preserve the unity of this valuable collection.
Discovering an exceptional patrimony
Visiting the site will unveil its history and reveal a patrimony remarkably preserved through the centuries by the Montesquieu family. The discovery of many rooms, entirely furnished, the antechamber, the salon, the secretaries' rooms as well as that of Montesquieu's wife, the chapel, Countess Jacqueline de Chabannes' salon… and the emblematic spaces in which Montesquieu worked such as his room conserved as it was in the XVIIth century and his library, which will lead you to know the writer.
