Podensac · Gironde
Parc Chavat, a Japanese-inspired water garden of 1917
Built in 1917 for the wartime supplier François Thévenot, Parc Chavat is a landscape park with a Japanese-inspired water course, a programme of statuary and a water tower that is Le Corbusier’s first known architectural work.
From the source
Château Chavat is a château at Podensac, Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The recorded building campaign dates from the 20th century. Its architecture is recorded as Neoclassical architecture. It is protected as a monument historique at the higher of the two levels (classé). Details are drawn from the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture.
Editorial reading
The whole park was classified in 2006, with its sculpted decoration, its water course, its greenhouses and the so-called Le Corbusier water tower. The record describes a landscaped park laid out around a water circuit of Japanese inspiration, adorned with marble and bronze statuary made by two artists working in Rome, who produced copies of antiques and Renaissance works. In the second half of the twentieth century the estate was broken up and the water tower fell out of use; the park now belongs to the commune of Podensac.
Recommendation
It is one of the few French parks where an early-modern water tower, Roman-made copies of antique statues and a Japanese water garden share the same lawn.
Sources
Base Mérimée — immeubles protégés · PA33000088 — Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab) — Ministère de la Culture, base Mérimée
Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Podensac%20Ch%C3%A2teau%20Chavat%2002.jpg — CC BY-SA 3.0
The château by this garden
Discover the architecture and history of this place at Le Roi du Château.
To the château dossier →Connected Landscapes, Terroirs & Living Heritage
Explore the historic gardens, remarkable villages, wine terroirs, and cultural itineraries intimately connected with this heritage landscape.
Château de Virelade
Château de Virelade is a château at Virelade, Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The recorded building campaign dates from the 19th century. It is protected as a monument historique at the second level (inscrit). Details are drawn from the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture.
Château de Cérons, appelé aussi château Calvimont
Château de Cérons, appelé aussi château Calvimont is a château at Cérons, Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The recorded building campaigns date from the 17th and 18th centuries. Its architecture is recorded as classical architecture. It is protected as a monument historique at the second level (inscrit). Details are drawn from the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture.
Château des Ducs d’Epernon, actuellement Musée historique et iconographique
Château des Ducs d'Epernon, actuellement Musée historique et iconographique is a château at Cadillac, Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The recorded building campaigns date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Its architecture is recorded as Renaissance architecture. It is protected as a monument historique at the higher of the two levels (classé). Details are drawn from the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture.