The castle of La Bred (Fr. Château de La Brède) is located in the La Bred commune of the French department of the Gironde . In 1689, the writer and thinker Montesquieu was born here. Most of his writings were written in the castle. On May 7, 2008, the entire architectural ensemble was granted the status of a historical monument.
| Castle | |
| Castle La Bred | |
|---|---|
| fr Château de la brède | |
| A country |  |
| Location | Gironde |
| Architectural style | |
| Building | XIV century - XIX century (last modified) |
| Status | private property |
| Site | chateaulabrede.com |
Description
Built in the XIV century , the castle of La Bred was originally created in the Gothic style . Surrounded by a moat filled with water, the castle had a defensive system. On January 18, 1689, Charles Louis de Second, Baron de Montesquieu was born in the castle. Throughout his life, the castle was the place of his regular residence. Many works of Montesquieu were written here, including “On the Spirit of Laws”. With him, the castle has undergone a number of changes. In particular, the French regular park, which is currently being restored, was also set up, as well as an English garden.
The castle itself contains Montesquieu’s chambers, which have not been changed since the 18th century, as well as its library, a collection of books of which was transferred to the Bordeaux Municipal Library.
The castle for centuries belonged to the Montesquieu family, which owned the territory from the X century until the death of Countess Jacqueline de Chabanne (1910-2004), a direct descendant of Denis, the youngest daughter of the writer. In 1994 , the Countess donated all the books and documents at her disposal to the Bordeaux Municipal Library. These documents constituted only a small part of the original library, most of which was sold in 1924, and the Montesquieu manuscripts that were once kept in La Breda in 1939 were sold to the Drouot auction house.