When he learned of the sale of the castle of Montceaux-lès-Vaudes (Aube), it was obvious for Jean-Matthieu Braux to buy this place. The thirty-year-old, history buff, who created the medieval tavern last summer in the town center of the Triasse city, embarked on this new challenge with conviction. This Friday, December 6, he presented his vision for this property steeped in history. “I do genealogy and this castle was built on the seigneurial hill of Montceaux, in connection with my family. I decided to buy it even though I wasn’t looking for a castle at all, it was an opportunity,” he explains.
Since September 24, 1946, the commune of Sainte-Savine has owned the Montceaux-lès-Vaudes estate, acquired during the rise of popular education to set up a summer camp for the benefit of Savinian children. The 19th century “Tudor” style castle, with an estimated surface area of 800 m2, is built of red bricks and cut stone, with a slate roof. It was partly rebuilt in 1910 after a fire. “When you first arrive to visit it, you have the impression that it is small, but there are a lot of spaces, beautiful volumes and it is in good condition,” describes the future owner.
Until spring 2022, the area was occupied by a medical-educational institute (IME) managed by PEP 10, an association of public education pupils. The buildings were no longer suitable for educational activities and would have required significant costs to bring them up to standard in addition to the operating costs of such a building. The PEP 10 establishment then decided to build new facilities for these activities and to free up the municipal castle.
After careful selection among several offers, Sainte-Savine accepted a proposal focused on a tourist and economic project, as its mayor, Arnaud Magloire, emphasizes: “This is part of the guideline that we had given ourselves with the mayor of Montceaux -lès-Vaudes. Sainte-Savine no longer had the need to keep a castle far from its commune. At the end of exploitation by the IME, it was quickly decided to sell the castle for economic activity. The idea was to have a beautiful project at a good price. »
Around twenty rooms, a French garden and fireworks
This remarkable residence is made up of four levels: a basement, a ground floor, a first floor and attics with a terrace where Jean-Matthieu Braux plans to redo a glass roof larger than the existing one. “The area is perfectly suited to my event reception project with beds. As the castle is neither registered nor classified, this allows me to make improvements and modifications without being limited in the work,” underlines the future owner.
The estate extends over nearly 23.5 ha, with meadow, woods, copse as well as converted outbuildings, built in a horseshoe shape. Originally stables, they were then used as workshops or bakeries on the ground floor, and as accommodation on the first floor. It is in this space that Jean-Matthieu Braux plans to create around twenty 4-star rooms to complete his offer. The young owner decided to improve the castle without completely restoring it, with a budget of 2.5 million euros including the purchase and the work.
The opening of the reception venue for weddings, seminars and family reunions is planned for 2026, with around ten rooms within the castle and 5 jobs at stake. The first step will be to create a “remarkable garden”, work on which will begin in the first quarter of 2025. This French-style garden will also be able to host activities and will be equipped with pyrotechnics systems to satisfy the bride and groom. Jean-Matthieu Braux would also like to carry out projects in the future with the neighboring IME, which offers a landscaping, market gardening and laundry section. “There are also kitchens, we can consider partnerships,” he adds. By 2028, he hopes to create around ten jobs and why not, one day, have the castle classified.