Discover

'Château de Rastignac' is a neoclassical style country house built between 1812 and 1817 of designs by the architect Mathurin Salat (1755–1822), sometimes called "Blanchard." The chateau is located in La Bachellerie, near Bordeaux in the Dordogne in France. The house was built of limestone by the Marquis de Rastignac.
Construction of the chateau was delayed by disruptions of the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. When completed, the house was decorated in the French Empire style. In 1944 fleeing Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) forces attempted to destroy Chateau Rastignac in retribution to the French Resistance. Using phosphorus as an accelerant, the fire burned for five days. Only the exterior limestone shell survived. After eight years the structure was stabilized and a roof placed overhead for protection.
The hemi-circular Ionic portico of Chateau Rastignac is frequently compared with the White House, and influences of one house on the other has been speculated. Though James Hoban the original White House architect did not visit the region, the third American president, Thomas Jefferson, did while serving as U.S. minister to France. Architectural historians have speculated that while visiting Bordeaux in 1789 Jefferson reviewed plans of the chateau, and on his return to the U.S. may have influenced the design of the White House.
Reconstruction of the chateau's interior spaces were completed in 2003 and it is now divided into seven residential apartments (five for the main building, and two for the former coach house).^[1]

Contents

References

External links

References

1. A chateau fit for a president, Johnson, Michael, , , International Herald Tribune,


★ Garrett, Wendell. ''Our Changing White House.'' Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.

★ Leish, Kenneth. ''The White House.'' Newsweek Book Division: 1972. ISBN 0-88225-020-5.

★ Penaud, Guy ''Dictionnaire des châteaux du Périgord.'' Editions Sud-Ouest: 1996. ISBN 2-87901-221-X.

★ Seale, William, ''The White House: The History of an American Idea.'' White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.

★ ''The White House: An Historic Guide.'' White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.

★ ''The White House. The First Two Hundred Years,'' ed. by Frank Freidel/William Pencak, Boston 1994.

External links

★ International Herald Tribune article on Chateau Rastignac

★ The columnist.com article on Chateau Rastignac