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THE ESTATE

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND HISTORY
Photo du château de rouvignac, location gîte de Charme Béziers

AN EXCEPTIONAL LOCATION

  • The estate is located southeast of the village of Cazouls-lès-Béziers, two kilometers from the limits of the town. Béziers is only 9 km away and the sea 20 km away.
    • Rouvignac is also a place protected from noise and pollution, a natural space.
    • Located below the D14, the site has good water resources thanks to a remarkable geological situation and five large wells, which probably explains its old and uninterrupted habitation. 
    • The park is bordered, on the other side of the small stream to the right of the gate, by an old road path from Cazouls to the Orb, the Chemin du Carlet, the route of which can be clearly seen.
    • The name of Rouvignac very probably comes from Roman times. “Ac” means owned by and therefore Rouvignac could mean the estate of Rubenius, Gallo-Roman family or the name of a soldier rewarded with the gift of land.

THE GALLO-ROMAN PERIOD

 
  •  • In the mid-1960s, Jacques de Saint Victor discovered a Roman Dolium while carrying out work on the vines. It is a large amphora 1m50 high, containing 500 to 600 liters, in an astonishing state of preservation because buried and therefore preserved for more than 2000 years. The Dolia were used to preserve the grain or even to carry out the first fermentations of wines, as is well explained in the villa of Loupian, near Méze.
    • After various excavations directed by the Abbé Giry, curator of the Enserune museum, we find the layout of the location of a Roman villa, at the bottom of the park, as well as numerous scattered remains including a millstone broken in one third and a superb water exchanger.

LATE 19TH CENTURY

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  •  • Joseph (1859/1895) and Jeanne Milhé de Saint Victor (born Lagarrigue, daughter of a mayor of Béziers at that time) bought Rouvignac in 1890, preferring this pretty, discreet residence to the construction of an ostentatious castle. This family has its origins in the upper cantons and distinguished itself in the 18th century in the town of Cessenon, taking on the role of mayor over several generations. Jean Baptiste embarked on a fine career as an officer at the Royal Roussillon Regiment, he was distinguished with the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis. 
    • Rouvignac is used as a summer house, the English-style park, redesigned at the time of acquisition, is the ideal place for children to play and family get-togethers.
    • Additional stables and outbuildings are built to accommodate horses and teams, they were designed by the great Bordelais architect Michel Louis Garros. A large greenhouse is added to the south side, it has been redesigned in more discreet proportions.
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  IN THE 20TH CENTURY

  •  • After the death of Jeanne in 1936, Guy Milhé de Saint Victor (1893/1972), her son, took over Rouvignac, he married Odette du Lac (1898/1983), whose ancestors owned La Gauphine on the road to Murviel. Several were mayors of Cazouls in the 19th century.
    • Electricity was installed in the house in 1946, but Rouvignac is not inhabited in winter, the domestic facilities remain light. A large wooded park and a vegetable garden adorn the site. On the large east-facing terrace, after dinner, conversations continue in the half-light and thanks to a southern temperature.
    • Jacques Milhé de Saint Victor (1920/1976), cavalry officer, married Edith de Castelnau (1932/1996), grand-daughter of one of the great generals of WWI, winner of the Grand Couronné de Nancy in 1914 (the main alley of the cemetery bears the name of this great battle) He undertakes the renovation of the main roof. He installs a winery for the 8 hectares of vines that surround the house.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY

  •  • Guy Milhé de Saint Victor, his son, and his wife, Constance de Lestapis, took over Rouvignac in the early 1990s and continued the renovations to make it a more modern house while faithfully respecting its style and cachet.
    • The family moved there permanently in June 2002.
    • At the end of 2020, the Château and its park were listed in the Inventory of Historic Monuments, thus crowning the major renovations carried out over several generations.

A CAZOULIN HERITAGE

  •  • The Château de Rouvignac, in a very pure and neo-classical style, is well representative of the nearby village in its simplicity and discretion. It is associated with the history of the village since Roman times and that of its owners to the present day. It is often said that the “houses are the witnesses of a family”, the walls of Rouvignac are impregnated with memories but also firmly anchored in our time, and for a long time yet.
    • The classic beauty of its architecture, the remarkable situation of its location, in a surrounding nature still preserved, make the Château de Rouvignac one of the jewels of the local area, of Biterrois too, and a site certainly to be protected for future generations.
Parc

A LARGE WOODED PARK

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  •  • The large park which extends in front of the house was planted in 1890, according to an English scheme with a beautiful perspective and majestic trees.
    • Plane trees, lime trees, holm oaks surround a large green meadow and bring freshness. The park is served by beautiful paths, beyond hedges and undergrowth. It is a set of 2 hectares, fully enclosed where calm reigns.
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PERFECT FOR COOLING OFF

  •  • A large swimming pool offers a space of relaxation with a very beautiful sunning, full south.
    • The place is completely secure and close to home.

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