Châteaubriant, a town à the countryside

Le château de Châteaubriant

Located between Nantes and Rennes, Châteaubriant is a meeting place between the Pays de la Loire and Brittany.

At the heart of this historic route, criss-crossed by the River Don, Châteaubriant stands out for its impressive castle. You can see this fortress from the lower slopes of the town, and here is its history:

- The castle was built at the beginning of the 11th century by Brient, an envoy of the Count of Rennes. His role was to defend Brittany from French troops.

- After the death of the latter, the Barony passed into the hands of Françoise de Dinan and Guy de Laval. However, by siding with France, Françoise de Dinan was forced to surrender Brittany to France. This was the treaty of Châteaubriant.

- In 1491, Anne of Brittany was forced to surrender Charles VIII. As a result, Brittany was definitively attached to France in 1532.

- At the time of the R&R, Brittany was the capital of France.

- During the French Revolution, the castle was sold as national property. The town of Chateaubriant subsequently decided to buy it back. Among the famous Britons who lived in Chateaubriant were Victor Hugo's parents, as well as the officer Pierre de Cambronne.

- The Chateaubriant Castle is one of the most famous in France.

- The château was sold to the département in 1853. It now belongs to the Conseil Départemental de la Loire-Atlantique.

- The castle was sold to the département.

Other tourist attractions

Other monuments await you, such as the Cistercian Abbey of La Melleray, founded in 1145, or the 15th-century castle of La Motte Glain and La Chapelle Glain.

Châteaubriant is also home to an important craft industry: the Ecomusée des Fours à Chaux will take you through the âges to reveal the past life of the workers in the XXème siècle. As well as the Forge Neuve site, showing the exploitation of iron à Moisdon-la-Rivière.