Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers

The stronghold dates to the thirteenth century and was originally called Motte Bauçay (or Baussay). The castle is a former stronghold of the Bauçay family, lords of Loudun. The Motte Baussay was taken several times by the English during the Hundred Years' War and devastated during the French Revolution.[1][2]

It was bought in 1809 by François Hennecart, a wealthy businessman, and then sold to Baron Joseph Lejeune in 1857.[2] However, a fire in 1932 destroyed most of the buildings in the castle, which then became abandoned.[2][3][4]

In December 2017, a French startup organized a crowdfunding campaign site, and 27,190 people having to pay at least €50 each joined the cause, raising €1,600,000,[2] to purchase the castle with the aim of preserving it.[5]

The castle was the subject of a project by the French photographer Roman Veillon in his book Green urbex: Le monde sans nous.[6]

^ Léo Desaivre (1904). "Inventaire du mobilier du château de la Mothe-Chandenier en 1530". Bulletins de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest (in French): 583–611.. ^ a b c d Willsher, Kim (5 December 2017). "La Mothe-Chandeniers - the French chateau now with 7,400 owners". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2022. ^ "Castle Was Abandoned After A Fire 80 Years Ago, The Inside Is Hauntingly Beautiful". 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016. ^ Pineau, Elizabeth (9 December 2019). "Living the dream: the commoners who bought a French castle". Reuters. Retrieved 11 September 2022. ^ Seibt, Sébastian (22 July 2018). "Global crowdfunding campaign buys French château". France 24. Retrieved 11 September 2022. ^ Tamara Hardingham-Gill. "'The World Without Us': The abandoned sites overrun by nature". CNN. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- Roman Veillon (2021). Green urbex: Le monde sans nous (in French). Albin Michel. ISBN 9782226460813.