Le château de Pornic

The Château de Pornic is the symbolic building of the town of Pornic and marks the landscape of the old port.

Military castle or seaside residence?

Both, Captain! It all depends on which era you're referring to!

With the sea on one side, the Château de Pornic is built on a defensive site. It was once surrounded by water on both sides.
Its current appearance dates from the end of the 19th century. "Even if the exterior is more in the style of a seaside resort, its medieval base is revealed when you walk through one of the rooms open to visitors," its current owner would tell you.


There have been five main periods

In the middle of the 10th century, Alain Barbetorte, Duke of Brittany, turned Pornic into a stronghold by building a wooden castle. It was manned by a garrison that protected the entrance to Pornic.
The first solid construction appeared at the beginning of the 12th century. In the 13th century, it belonged to the Lords of Rais, who built a new stone castle. The most famous of the Lords of Rais was Gilles de Rais in the 15th century (Joan of Arc's comrade-in-arms), who did not live there, preferring the Château de Machecoul.
At the end of the 18th century, the château was owned by the Marquis of Brie-Serrant. During the French Revolution, his property was confiscated and the château fell into ruin.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Joseph Lebreton bought the medieval remains of the castle in 1824 and turned it into a residence. To this end, he commissioned the first Italianate architectural alterations, some of which can still be seen at the foot of the castle's north tower. His son, Alcime Lebreton, carried out a second phase of work between 1863 and 1872, notably to extend the main building.
At the end of the 19th century, it was the Nantes architect François Bougouin who gave it its current appearance following work carried out between 1897 and 1899 on the initiative of the owner at the time, Clément de Bourqueney.



The château today

The Robert de Voguë family, the current owners, have lived in Pornic since 1886! They were closely related to the Lebreton family, who had previously owned the château since 1824. This château has the particularity of being passed down by women, which explains the four changes in the owners' names following their marriages, but it's still the same family line! And it's not impossible that this tradition will continue...

So how did Robert de Voguë come to own the château and why did he decide to live there?
"When my grandparents died, my parents didn't want to look after the château. So they passed it on to the next generation while they were still alive. In terms of siblings, I wasn't the first, but the death of my eldest brother for France in 1955 decided otherwise. That's why I became the owner in 1977. I was very young then. At first it was my second home, but then it became my main home, my heart and my life!


Visits to the Château de Pornic

The château is now privately owned. It can be visited as part of the Tourist Office's guided tours and with guided tours organised by the Château's owner.


To access the courtyards of the Château de Pornic: a walking tour of the town with access to the gardens of the Château "Cité médiévale et maritime" or a special tour for children aged 7-12 in the gardens of the Château "Once upon a time...the Château de Pornic".
It also opens its doors during the European Heritage Days on the third weekend in September.
Depending on the season, there are two ways to discover some of the interior rooms of the Château de Pornic, a private, inhabited property: Guided tours led by Tourist Office guides In the Intimacy of the Château de Pornic: (children aged 10 and over only - Single price €8), from late October to late April, or Guided tours of the Château de Pornic (Price €8 - Free for children under 10).



Tickets on sale at all information offices (La Bernerie-en-Retz, Les Moutiers-en-Retz, La Plaine-sur-Mer, Pornic, Préfailles, Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and Villeneuve-en-Retz).