Preignac · Gironde
The terraces, basins and nymphaeum of Malle
Built at the start of the seventeenth century for Jacques de Malle, president of the Parlement of Bordeaux, the château of Malle at Preignac steps down its slope in terraces that continue into the gardens; park, basins, terraces, statues and nymphaeum were classified in 1949.
From the source
Château de Malle is a château at Preignac, Gironde, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The recorded building campaign dates from the 17th century. 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 record describes a U-shaped house open onto the cour d’honneur, built on ground whose slope is taken up by a succession of terraces that continue into the gardens, with two wings ending in large corner towers and pots à feu along every court façade. Embellished at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the interior keeps Louis XIV panelling, monumental stone chimneypieces and a chapel painted on leather. The 1949 classification names the entrance gate and the gate of the cour d’honneur with its pilasters, and the park with its basins, terraces, statues and nymphaeum. The boxwood parterre in the park belongs to that ensemble.
Recommendation
Malle is a Sauternes estate as well as a garden: the terraces, statues and nymphaeum are what a Bordeaux parliamentarian thought a vineyard house deserved.
Sources
Base Mérimée — immeubles protégés · PA00083681 — Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab) — Ministère de la Culture, base Mérimée
Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Chateau%20de%20Malle.JPG — Public domain
The château by this garden
Discover the architecture and history of this place at Le Roi du Château.
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