Château La Louvière

English translation

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History

The old noble house was doubtless fortified. At the beginning of the 17th century, it became the property of the Carthusians of the Miséricorde of Bordeaux. Declared national property in 1791, the residence was purchased by a Bordeaux shipowner. The old château which comprised a main house, chapel, barn, vat room, agricultural buildings and water mills, was razed. The architect François Lhote constructed the current neoclassical building between 1791 and 1799. The rectangular building rests on a partially underground basement. A porch supported by columns with Ionic capital and preceded by a wide flight of steps, forms the entrance of the main façade. On the opposite side, an avant-corps with three bays preceded by a double flight staircase, enlivens the façade overlooking the park. At the beginning of 1799, the Flemish painter Lonsing began the decoration of the salon which represents the apotheosis of Psyche. After his death in April of the same year, the whole was completed by the Bordeaux painter Pierre Lacour. Dependencies with a large central carriage gateway, perpendicular to the east façade, determine a courtyard of honour. The avenue on the park side leads to a gateway guarded by an octagonal pavilion.