It is not the best known of the Loire castles but it is, without a doubt, one of the most precious in the Nantes region. Located in the commune of Haute-Goulaine (Loire-Atlantique), south-east of Nantes, the Château de Goulaine belonged for around a thousand years to the family of the same name. At least until December 21. The tufa fortress, its period furniture, its works of art and its gardens have indeed just been sold to Hervé Lecesne, a wealthy Parisian industrialist, president of Nactis, a group specializing in aromatic ingredients. The amount of the transaction remains “confidential” but the initial price was set at 4.5 million euros.
“We fell in love with this castle which has all the characteristics we were looking for. It is a very beautiful building, very well maintained, close to Nantes, with a very interesting history and a cultural dimension. We already knew a little about it when it housed the LU museum, ”says Hervé Lecesne, 72, already owner of a castle in Normandy and a private mansion in the city center of Nantes.
The return of the butterfly aviary?
The businessman, who will continue to live in Paris, was looking for a “magnificent place to develop a meeting activity, to support local artists”. He therefore intends to continue to invest in the “renovation” of the castle and increase its openness to the general public in order to “make it better known”, especially among “young people”.
Among its projects: that of increasing the number of days of visits, developing the hosting of events, and reopening the famous tropical butterfly aviary, closed in 2014 after thirty years of activity. “She was very popular with the general public. Many still talk about it. The facilities are still there. It would be necessary to restore them, of course, but it is possible”, indicates the new owner. A catering offer is also under consideration. But “no hotel business”. As for communication, it will be reinforced with a “new website” and a “tourist guide”.
“We are the generation that sold the castle”
For Christophe de Goulaine, former co-owner and manager of the site, the prospect is reassuring. “It’s a buyer who will keep the castle open, maintain it, develop the project. It’s going in the right direction. We didn’t want to sell to someone who would have privatized it. The youngest son of the Marquis Robert de Goulaine will also accompany Hervé Lecesne during a transitional period. The castle had been put up for sale eight years earlier due to a family disagreement and the high maintenance cost of such a building classified as a historic monument. “Thirty generations of Goulaine have succeeded in this property. We’re the one who sold the castle. It’s a page that turns. It was not easy to find a buyer for this type of property. But I think we managed to find someone who will preserve it, ”confides Christophe de Goulaine.
Hervé Lecesne, who says he has already visited the castle fifteen times, will try to come “as often as possible” to Haute-Goulaine. He will also be there next weekend to meet the association of friends of the castle. The reopening of the site to the public is planned for the Easter holidays.
Built in the 12th century, classified as a historic monument in 1913, the Château de Goulaine houses, in particular, a room which would have housed King Louis XIV when he came to Nantes in 1661.