France · Restored
Château du Plessis-Bourré
Château du Plessis-Bourré is a French moated château notable for its compact rectangular plan, round corner towers and steep slate roofs. It presents a fortified-appearance with a prominent gatehouse and a stone arched bridge across the surrounding moat.
Its prime
1537
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1537
The shape it held in its prime.
A compact, rectangular limestone château set within a full water-filled moat, linked to the shore by a low stone bridge of three rounded arches. Each corner is anchored by a cylindrical tower capped with tall conical slate roofs; a projecting square gatehouse with corbelled machicolations fronts the main entrance. The long main block has a steep, continuous slate roof punctured by small dormers and a taller central roof peak; pale, weathered tuffeau stone facades meet the waterline directly.
Its story
The story of Château du Plessis-Bourré.
The Château du Plessis-Bourré was built in less than five years, from 1468 to 1472, by Jean Bourré, finance minister and principal advisor to King Louis XI. It has not been modified externally since its construction, still has a fully working drawbridge, and was classified as a Monument historique in 1931.
The château was later owned by the Maison de Nuchèze, whose Jean de Nuchèze bore the title Seigneur du Plessis in the sixteenth century. In 1911 it was purchased by Henry Vaïsse, who on his death in 1956 bequeathed it to his nephew François Reille-Soult, Duke of Dalmatie, descendant of the Napoleonic marshals Soult, Reille and Masséna.
From 1978 the duke's granddaughter Antoinette de Ferrières de Sauvebœuf and her husband Bruno headed its renovation and maintenance, living there with their three children for 31 years — the longest stay of a single family since 1473. Since 2010 it has been inhabited by Reille-Soult descendants, and its moated silhouette has appeared in numerous films, from Peau d'Âne to The Princess of Montpensier.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1537.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Château du Plessis-Bourré — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Château du Plessis-Bourré with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1537 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Château du Plessis-Bourré.
The families that held Château du Plessis-Bourré for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Bourré
Built 1468–1472 by Jean Bourré, finance minister and principal advisor to Louis XI.
Nuchèze
Once owned by the Maison de Nuchèze; Jean de Nuchèze was styled Seigneur du Plessis in the 16th century.
Reille-Soult
Held by the Reille-Soult family, Dukes of Dalmatie, since Henry Vaïsse's bequest of 1956.
